


Stand By You

by xSophie2x



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Dates, First Kiss, Good Liam Dunbar, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, Lacrosse, M/M, Sad, Sad Theo Raeken, Support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-09-01 21:24:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 59,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16773211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSophie2x/pseuds/xSophie2x
Summary: Liam is new at Beacon Hills High School, and he has to get used to it. Theo Raeken, the captain of the lacrosse team who's going through a difficult time, doesn't make this any easier.Or: I'm bad at summaries





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not actually sure how good this is, but I'm going to give it a try. Also, I'm not very good at writing in English, I haven't done that very often yet, so sorry for any mistakes. And even though this chapter is pretty short, the next ones will be longer.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam is nervous to go to his new school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone will like this story! (If there's any mistakes, then that's because this is one of the first stories I've written in English)

Liam wished he didn’t have to go to a new school.  


When he thought of his old school, he thought of the way it worked there. He knew how it worked there, he knew the social rules and how to behave, even if that hadn’t really worked out for him. And he knew the people there, whether that was a good or a bad thing, whether they liked him or not.  


It wasn’t all bad though, because at least he was familiar with the place and knew everything about it, and knew how to handle difficult things there.  


That wasn’t the case at all with his new school. He didn’t know anything about the place, and he knew no one. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do if something difficult happened, in a way that was normal for the school.  


As he stood in front of his wardrobe with his nails pressed into the palm of his hands, like he always did when he was nervous, Liam let out sigh, feeling incredibly nervous for his first day of school. He scanned his clothes, knowing that he couldn’t go to school looking like a dork, and yet, dorky clothes were all he suddenly seemed to have. After looking a little better, though, he found a shirt and jeans that looked decent enough, took them out of the wardrobe and closed the doors. When he did, he saw his mom standing behind in the mirror on the inside of the door, and he jumped.  


‘Mom!’ he exclaimed. ‘You scared me!’  


‘Sorry, sweetheart,’ she smiled, stepping closer to him. ‘Are you ready?’  


‘No!’ Liam groaned, a little harsher than he meant, before falling back down on the bed with his clothes still in his hands. He could feel the nervousness growing when the time to go to school came closer. He hated it though, because rationally he knew that school was nothing to be nervous about, and yet he was worried about going to the place he knew nothing about. Liam had to take a deep breath to calm down a little again.  


‘Come on,’ his mom said as she walked to the door. ‘If you get dressed now, I’ll have breakfast ready when you get downstairs. And if you want, I can give you a ride to school.’  


Liam nodded and smiled, and got up from the bed again. He was a little worried about what kind of impression it would give if his mom drove him to school on the first day, but he didn’t say it out loud. She was only trying to help, after all, and even if starting at a new school was less than ideal, all the nice, little things that his mom did for him, made everything just a little bit easier. 

***** 

When the car pulled to the high school, Liam was staring out of the window. The place was buzzing with people and everything looked pretty normal, but despite that, Liam could feel the nervousness growing. His heart was beating fast and he had his nails pressed into the palm of his hands again. He had to take a deep breath to calm down a little again, and looked at the school building before him with kind of a nauseous feeling in his stomach.  


‘Liam,’ his mom said softly beside him. ‘We’re here.’  


Liam looked away from the window and rubbed his hands together. ‘I know. I’m just…’ He paused, and let out a sigh. ‘Getting ready, I guess.’  


‘I know,’ his mom said. ‘But this isn’t Devenford Prep, and you have to give it a chance, don't you?"  


Her voice sounded soft and encouraging, and Liam looked up. "I know. I just... I guess I just don't want to screw up again." He rubbed his hands together nervously.  


‘You won't," his mom replied. ‘What happened at Devenford wasn't your fault. And I think that if you're just a little bit more positive for today, it could be a good day.’  


Liam remained silent, thinking about his mother's words. They weren't all true, because what happened at Devenford was definitely partially his fault. But there was truth to her words as well, and Liam thought that they gave him exactly the little push that he needed to gain a little confidence and open the car door. ‘I think you're right, mom," he said. "Thanks.’  


His mom smiled. ‘It’ll be easier after today, you’ll see,’ she responded encouragingly, before: ‘And now you need to go, or you're gonna be late!’  


Liam nodded, and got out of the car with his bag in his hands. He felt a little more confident that today was gonna be okay now, and even though he was still nervous, it wasn't as much as before. He finally felt like today was gonna be a little bit easier than he previously thought, which was good, because if he was gonna get through the day he was gonna need that.  


With a shaky breath, he turned towards the school, watching all the people there, talking and laughing with each other. Liam wanted to be a part of that. And he vowed to try harder to achieve that than he had at his last school.  


'Liam!?' his mom called from behind him, and he turned around. His mom had an apologetic look on her face. 'I'm sorry, but I need to go,' she said. ‘Or I'm gonna be late for work.’  


Liam nodded. ‘If I don't go now, I'm actually gonna be late as well,’ he said with a little laugh. His mom nodded, and started the car again. ‘I'll be here to pick you up after school again,’ she said. ‘And, good luck today.’  


Liam smiled and nodded, swinging his backpack over his back. ‘Thanks,’ he said, before closing the car door. He and his mom gave each other a last little wave, and then she was off. Liam watched as she drove around the corner, out of sight, before he turned around with a sigh, and started to walk towards the school past the giant brick sign that read: "Beacon Hills High School." It was fine. He could do this.

***** 

The school was surprisingly big, which, needless to say, was something Liam didn't expect from a relatively small town. He looked around in the hallway, which was long and large, and had lockers on either side of it. It was surprisingly light too, despite the fact that the only windows were next to the doors. It was very different from his old school, that was for sure, and he hoped that he could feel at home here eventually.  


As Liam strolled through the hallway, there were only a few other students who were looking at him curiously, which he tried to ignore. He walked up to the desk at the end the hallway that he saw, where he was told to wait for a certain 'Mr. Wilson,' who was apparently the principal. Liam took place in a chair next to the desk, waiting for Mr. Wilson while playing with his phone. When Mr. Wilson showed up, Liam stood up and after a quick introduction, Liam followed Mr. Wilson to his classroom. Mr. Wilson was talking quickly, too quickly if you asked Liam, despite the fact that he wasn't even really listening, and he couldn't help it that his thoughts drifted away every now and then on their way to the classroom. It wasn't until they arrived at the classroom that he forced himself to pay attention again. Mr. Wilson knocked on the door and opened it. ‘Mrs. Taylor?’ he asked.  


The teacher, who was currently explaining something to the class in front of the schoolboard and whose name was apparently Mrs. Taylor, nodded, making it clear that they could come in. Liam followed after Mr. Wilson, and tried to ignore the way the eyes of everyone in the class were directed at him, making his cheeks burn.  


‘This is Liam Dunbar,’ Mr. Wilson said. ‘The new student.’  


‘Ah, Mr. Dunbar,’ Mrs. Taylor said in a friendly tone, as Liam fumbled with his hands nervously. ‘Welcome,’ she continued.  


Mr. Wilson gave a quick nod behind him before walking out of the classroom again, leaving them to it, and Mrs. Taylor turned towards Liam. ‘There's still a place free for you,’ she said.  


Liam nodded, and made his way over to one of the only empty tables in the back of the classroom and sat down, thankfully surprisingly quiet for someone who was as clumsy as he was.  


Quietly, he took his books out of his bag and put them on the table, ready to pay attention to the teacher, when he heard a noise coming from beside him.  


‘Pssst,’ the dark skinned boy who was sitting beside him whispered, to get his attention. Liam turned towards him slightly, so that Mrs. Taylor wouldn't notice anything, and stared at the guy with his eyebrows raised and a questioning look on his face. He was feeling vaguely annoyed because he just wanted to pay attention in this class, but at the same time, acting irritated toward others on his first day wouldn't get him any friends. Besides, he got the impression that this guy wouldn't leave him alone until he said what he wanted to say. Not even to wait until after class. So Liam waited until the guy started to whisper.  


‘Why is the mushroom always invited to parties?’ he asked.  


Liam looked at him with a questioning look on his face and his eyebrows raised, showing him that he didn't know and urging him to reveal the answer.  


‘Because he was a fungi!’ the guy continued then, in what seemed to be a yell and a whisper at the same time.  


Liam raised his eyebrows and looked at the guy with feigned disappointment for a few seconds, until he couldn't hide his smile anymore that was caused by the guy's unbelievably stupid joke.  


The boy grinned, seemingly happy that he made Liam laugh, and leaned a little closer so Liam could hear him when he said: ‘I'm Mason.’  


‘Liam,’ Liam said automatically, to introduce himself.  


‘I know,’ Mason said, earning another strange look from Liam. ‘I mean... They told us your name when you came in.’  


Liam chuckled; he liked this guy. He was almost as awkward as he was. Mason smiled, genuinely, and Liam could feel himself relax a little bit for the first time that day. He was glad that there was someone nice sitting next to him, even if he had a totally terrible sense of humor. With a small smile still on his face, Liam got ready to take notes and pay attention again. But when he heard a cough from behind, though, he looked over his shoulder.  


‘Oh,’ Mason whispered beside him as he saw what was going on. ‘Liam,’ he said, nodding to the brown-haired boy and the dark-haired girl sitting one row behind them. ‘This is Corey, and that's Hayden.’  


Liam nodded and smiled at them, just as Mason said: ‘But you don't have to remember that.’  


It earned him a smack against his arm from Hayden, causing Corey to snort and Mrs. Taylor to look their way.  


‘Mason!’ she said. ‘Do you and your friends want to stay behind after class again?’  


Immediately, Mason turned back into his, and shook his head. ‘No.’  


‘Okay,’ Mrs. Taylor said. ‘Then please pay attention. All of you.’  


Liam stared at her with his mouth a little open in surprise and burning, red cheeks, because he couldn't help but feel that the warning was directed at him as well.  


And that on his first day.  


He felt the embarrassment in his stomach and bowed his head, both to hide his red cheeks and to give the impression that he was taking notes now. It seemed that Mason and his friends were troublemakers, as this clearly wasn't the first time they had gotten a warning and had stayed behind after class before. Of course they had, that was just Liam's luck.  


At the same time, though, he couldn't help but think that they seemed pretty cool. And it wasn't like Liam himself was such a saint, he just didn't like being the center of attention. But Mason's stupid joke had helped him to relax just a little bit more, and based on the very short conversation they'd had in class, they seemed to be getting along just fine. It would be nice to make fast friends on his first day here, especially if they seemed to be so relaxed around his each other that it made Liam relax as well, like it was easy to fit in with them.  


And judged on the mischievous smile he and Mason exchanged when Mrs. Taylor had her back turned to the class, he thought exactly the same.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam meets Theo for the first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone will like the way they first meet

As it turned out, Liam could totally see why Mason was friends with Corey and Hayden. They were pretty cool, which he figured out as he walked beside them to the cafeteria during lunchtime. Mason was busy discussing some strange theory the teacher had mentioned during history class, making some wild hand gestures and talking to Corey excitedly. He seemed to enjoy history, which Liam was glad about, because so did he. That was something nice to have in common.  


Hayden was walking behind them, and as soon as she saw that they were going to the cafeteria, she stopped them and said: 'Guys? Can we not eat outside for once? The weather's nice enough...'  


Mason and Corey turned around, and Liam decided to stay silent, not wanting to come on too strong and make decisions for them when he didn't even really know them.  


'We always eat in the cafeteria," Mason pointed out carefully.  


Hayden looked taken aback, but Corey just rolled his eyes and started to push Mason towards the doors. 'Yes,' he said. 'Which is why now is a perfect time to change that.'  


Hayden grinned widely, happy that she got what she wanted, and gestured to Liam to come with them as she followed Mason and Corey outside. Liam smiled and caught up with the three of them soon enough, glad that he was invited to sit with them and didn't have to spend lunchbreak all alone. Hayden walked beside him, her hands in her pockets and a kind smile on her face, and asked: 'How do you like it here so far?'  


‘It's nice,’ Liam blurted, probably a little too fast. ‘I mean, I guess I didn't really want to come here at first and I was really nervous that I had to, but now it's not so bad.’  


Hayden chuckled. ‘I get that you were nervous,’ she said as they walked behind Mason and Corey to the bleachers next to the sports field. ‘But I guess sometimes you just have to give things a chance.’  


Liam nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, I guess,’ he mumbled, as he climbed up on the bleachers to sit between Hayden and Mason. From where they were sitting, Liam had a great view over the field. There were a couple of guys playing lacrosse, and Liam watched them with a smile on his face and his lunch on his lap. He remembered playing lacrosse at his old school, which he enjoyed, and seemed to be quite good at too.  


That was, before things started going wrong though.  


With a sigh, he took a bite from his sandwich and took a closer look at the guys on the field, even though it made him miss lacrosse even more. The guys who were playing all seemed to be pretty good, but there was one guy in particular who caught his attention. Even though it was only practice, the guy scored goal after goal, and did so with a certain amount of aggression and determination that fascinated Liam. Slowly, he looked away from the guy, because he actually didn't want to miss another good lacrosse goal that the guy might do, and looked towards Mason.  


‘Hey, Mason,’ he asked slowly, while nodding towards the guy. ‘Who's that?’  


‘Hmm?" Mason replied lazily, following Liam's gaze. "Oh, him? That is, eh... That's Theo Raeken. He's the captain of the lacrosse team.’  


Liam nodded dreamily, staring at the guy called Theo again, and was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice how tense Mason had sounded when talking about him, or the concerned looks he exchanged with Corey and Hayden.  


Theo.  


Liam liked it.  


‘So, eh, Liam,’ Hayden started then, to catch his attention and change the subject. ‘Are you coming to the party tomorrow night too?’  


Liam looked up. ‘Hmm? What kind of party is this?’  


‘Oh!’ Corey said, as if he just remembered that Liam didn't know anything about a party because he was new. ‘It's a party that's thrown by a girl who's a senior now,’ Corey explained. ‘Her name is Lydia, and she always does that a little while after the start of the school year. I guess it's kind of a tradition now. She always gives the best parties.’  


Liam smiled, and nodded. He liked the fact that he was invited, it made him feel like he was already a part of their welcoming little group, and he was glad about that. Still, he wasn't too sure about going to a party. It was his first day after all, and he didn't really know anyone. Maybe it'd be better if he stayed home for now, he already knew he would mostly feel uncomfortable if he went to a party where he didn't really know anyone anyway.  


When he spoke those thoughts out loud, though, Mason gave him a strange look. ‘What are you talking about?’ he said. ‘You know us, don't you? Or at least you're starting too.’  


Liam nodded, but still hesitated, thinking about the pros and cons of going the party. When he saw Mason, Corey and Hayden looking at him expectantly though, he made a quick decision. After all, what was wrong with being stupid and spontaneous once a while?  


‘Yes,’ he said, before he could change his mind again. ‘Yes, fine, I will go.’  


A wide smile appeared on Mason's face, and he cheered: ‘Awesome!’  


Liam grinned, happy that he made that decision even though deep down he was still hesitating, and turned back to the sports field while he finished his lunch. He spotted Theo much closer to the bleachers now, at the right of the sports field, and it gave him a better look of Theo's face then when the boy was out on the field.  


Liam was surprised to see how good the boy looked. His green eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and his lacrosse jersey seemed to be just a little bit tighter on him than on the rest of the players. Despite that though, Liam couldn't help but notice how tense the boy looked, as if he was stressed about something, and how he had no smile on his face. He watched as Theo walked to the side of the field, where there was a brown-haired girl waiting for him. Theo gave her a quick kiss on the lips before walking past her, and as she followed him and they walked together, they seemed to be in a pretty heated and not very pleasant conversation, both talking fast. Liam stared after them with a frown, and he wished that he could explain where the sudden feeling of disappointment he had in that moment, had come from.  


Luckily, he didn't have to think about it long. Mason's voice interrupted his thoughts, as he exclaimed: ‘Oh!’  


'What is it?' Hayden asked as she leaned forward.  


Mason looked up from his phone. ‘Maths got cancelled. Mrs. Fleming is ill. That means we got the whole afternoon off.’  


‘Cool!’ Hayden exclaimed happily. ‘Maybe we can get ice cream now!’  


‘Yeah,’ Mason nodded excitedly as he gathered his things to get off the bleachers. ‘Are you coming too, Liam?’  


Liam smiled, happy that he was invited, but decided that he was gonna sit this one out for now. He shook his head, and followed the others as they walked away from the sports field. ‘No, sorry. I think I'm just gonna go home for now.’  


Mason nodded, with an understanding look on his face that was different than the excitement he had only shown all day. ‘Alright,’ he said.  


Liam walked with them to the entrance of the school, where Mason, Corey and Hayden said goodbye to him and reminded him of the party, before they left. Liam stared after them with a soft smile on his face until they were out of sight, glad that he got to meet such nice people on his first day. Then he took his phone out of his pocket, and called his mom to say that she could pick him up early after all.

***** 

‘Are you sure that's a good idea?’  


Liam knew he shouldn't have told his mom about the party. He just thought he couldn't hide something like that from her, although now he wished he could.  


‘Mom, it's not a big deal,’ he said from where he was sitting on the couch. ‘I'm going with Mason, Corey and Hayden.’  


His mom looked up, and had a surprised look on her face as she looked at him. ‘Who are they then?’ she asked curiously and a little jokingly.  


Liam could feel his cheeks burn from sudden shyness and a slight embarrassment, and he muttered: ‘Just some people from my class.’  


His mom looked at him curiously from where she was sitting across from him. ‘Nice people?’ she asked.  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah, actually. Really nice.’  


‘Did they invite you the party?’  


Liam nodded. ‘They did.’  


His mom sighed. ‘Well, I think I'm gonna have to let you go then, don't I? It wouldn't be cool if I didn't. But you know why I'm worried, right?’  


Liam sighed; he knew this was coming. ‘Yes,’ he mumbled, staring down at his lap. ‘I know.’  


‘I just don't want you to get worked up again, Liam,’ his mom explained, sounding tired.  


‘And you think I do?’ Liam mumbled, sounding equally as tired. He could still remember the last time he'd gotten too frustrated; he didn't want that to happen again. And he could see why his mom thought that a party, with a lot of people and alcohol, wasn't really the best place for him to be.  


His mom sighed. ‘Sweetie, you can go. Of course you can go. You don't I don't want to be that kind of mom who's all strict and says you can't go to these things.’  


Liam chuckled. ‘Thanks, mom.’  


‘Just promise me one thing?’ she asked then.  


Liam looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. ‘Promise me you'll take care of yourself, and stay close to your classmates. Okay?’  


Liam nodded with a big smile on his face, happy that he was allowed to go. His mom stood up and smiled at him, but when she was by the door of the living room, ready to go upstairs, she turned around one more time. ‘Just one last thing?’ she asked.  


Liam looked up. ‘What?’  


His mom smiled. ‘Have fun.’

***** 

The next day, school went by pretty quickly for Liam. He saw Mason first thing in the morning when they had English class together, and after that the four of them, with Corey and Hayden as well, had chemistry together. At lunchbreak they ate inside, and even though Liam would have preferred to eat by the sports field again, it gave him a nice look of the cafeteria he hadn't seen on his first day. He exchanged phone numbers with Mason, who then added him to their group chat, and he gave them his address so they could pick him up for the party that night. After lunch, he had a few more classes that were a little boring to be honest, and when school was over, Liam rushed home to get some homework done and get changed for the party.  


When the bell rang that night, Liam was quick to open the door. He was a little nervous because of his conversation with his mom, although it wasn't as much as on the first day of school. When the door opened, Mason greeted him with the welcoming smile he usually had on, and Corey and Hayden were standing next to him.  


‘Hey,’ Liam said, a little nervous, as he pressed his nails in the palm of his hands. He could hear his mother coming into the hallway behind and she came to a stop beside him, greeting the three teens on the doorstep. ‘Hello.’  


‘Hello,’ Hayden replied easily, as she shook Jenna's hand and introduced herself, Corey and Mason. ‘We were just here to pick Liam up for the party.’  


‘So I've heard," Jenna replied as she looked towards Liam with a small smile on her face. ‘You can go. Just don't be back too late, okay?’  


Liam nodded quickly. "Okay, mom," he said, before he followed Mason out of the house and to his car. Once he got there he turned around to his mom one more time, and it seemed like she mouthed: ‘Be careful.’  


He nodded, and then he got in the car with Mason, waiting for him to start it. When he did and drove away, Liam stared at the road ahead, wondering how big this party would be. He was still feeling nervous, he could feel it in his stomach, but it was in a good way now. He was excited.  


‘Do you like going to the party, Liam?’ Hayden, who was sitting next to him in the backseat, asked. ‘Cause I know we actually pressured you a little bit to come, but I guess I just want to make sure you have a good time.’  


‘Yeah," Liam replied. "Yeah, no, I wasn't too sure about it first, but now I actually like it.’  


Hayden smiled and nodded, and Liam was beginning to see her as the kind girl she was, always looking out for everyone.  


Then Corey turned around in the passenger's seat, and said: ‘We're here, guys.’  


Hayden smiled excitedly, and as they all got out of the car, Liam could feel his nervousness growing once again. He had to remind himself that it was just a party, and that it would be okay as long as he stayed close to the people he knew.  


The house where the party was held was big, bigger than Liam could have imagined, and as the four of them walked up to the front door, Liam took his time to take a good look at it. It was quite beautiful and well-kept, made with brown bricks and neat-looking white window frames, and through the two big windows at the front of the house, Liam could see that the party had already well and truly started. There were a lot of people already, and Liam hoped to God that he wouldn't lose his classmates out of sight.  


Mason rang the doorbell, and stuck his hands in his pockets as they waited for the door to open. When it did, it revealed a girl with light red hair holding a tray with glasses, balancing them carefully as she opened the door and trying not to drop them, but as she saw who were standing on the doorstep, a smile appeared on her face. ‘Great, more guests!’ she said as she stepped aside to hold the door open. ‘Come on in!’  


Liam thought it was a pretty standard response for receiving guests at your party, but he wasn't actually sure he would do anything different if he had to receive people he didn't even really know at his party.  


With the four of them, they walked into the house, and as Liam took a look around the hallway, he saw that it matched the outside of the house. Everything was light, with white walls and fancy decorations, and Liam couldn't help but be a little bit impressed. His own house was definitely messier than this, although he didn't actually mind that either.  


The girl who gave the party, whose name Liam now remembered was Lydia, because Corey told him, was already gone again. Liam figured that the tray she was holding had been getting too heavy, but he still didn't really understand why she was gone so soon. ‘Didn't you guys say you knew her?’ he asked.  


‘Yeah, but, more because we've been to her parties before,’ Mason explained. ‘And we see her in school sometimes, she's quite popular. Everybody kinda knows who Lydia is. But we don't really know her personally.’  


‘Ah,’ Liam mumbled, nodding.  


‘Come on," Mason said then. "We can go to the living room.’  


Corey and Liam nodded, but as they walked towards the door, Hayden said: ‘You know what, I think I'm actually gonna go to the kitchen first. I'm a little thirsty. But I'll meet you guys in a minute.’  


Mason nodded and pushed the door open, but Liam stopped him. "Mason?" he asked awkwardly. ‘Do you, eh, maybe know where the bathroom is?’  


‘Yeah,’ Mason chuckled. ‘It's right here.’ He pointed to one of the doors in the hallway. ‘We're just gonna be in the living room, that's that door on the right, so you can just come there if you're looking for us.’  


‘Alright,’ Liam nodded. ‘Thanks.’  


He waited a moment until Mason and Corey had walked away before he opened the door that Mason had pointed at, and after that, he made his way to the living room. Through the door on the right, just like Mason had said.  


When he walked into the living room, there were a lot of people there already. Some people were standing somewhere off to the side, talking, but most people were sitting on the couch and were wrapped up in a loud conversation where everyone was just kinda shouting over each other, including Corey and Mason.  


Liam stood still for a moment, a little further away from the group, and watched how they all had fun together. Then, however, he saw how Mason and Corey leaned closer to each other, until their lips touched, and Liam could feel his jaw drop. It wasn't until he heard a sound behind him that he snapped out of his thoughts, and Hayden appeared beside him. ‘You don't have to look so surprised,’ she chuckled. ‘They've been doing that for almost a year now.’  


Liam remained silent, and a serious look suddenly appeared on Hayden's face. ‘Unless you... You don't have a problem with them being together, do you?’ she asked cautiously.  


‘No! Oh my God, no!’ Liam said immediately. ‘No, one of my old friends was bisexual, trust me, I'm not like that,’ he blurted. ‘I'm just surprised, I wasn't expecting that.’  


Hayden nodded. ‘I can understand that,’ she said as she started to walk towards the big group by the couch and gestured to him to come along too. ‘Now come on, it's your party too, you don't have to keep standing here by yourself all night,’ she smiled.  


Liam chuckled and nodded, following after her to the couch, where Corey and Mason made room for the both of them, and they fell down on the couch next to each other.

***** 

An hour later, Liam had had three more cups of a drink he wasn't even sure about what it was, just knew that it tasted good, and he was standing against the wall in the living room. He and his classmates were all scattered throughout the house everywhere since they lost each other about half an hour ago, and Liam had been trying to find them since.  


Needless to say, he hadn't been successful.  


It honestly scared Liam a bit, being all alone in a big house he didn't know without any if the people he came with. This was exactly what his mom had warned him about.  


With a deep breath and his nails pressed into the palm of his hands, he walked another round through the living room, looking for his classmates, when he suddenly thought he saw Mason outside. With a sigh of absolute relief, he walked towards the kitchen that would lead to the backyard, but came to a stop outside of the kitchen door when he heard voices inside.  


‘Theo, stop, don't you think you've had enough?’ a voice that sounded worried and irritated at the same time said.  


‘Let me go, Scott! Just leave me be!’ the other person, Theo, snapped.  


Liam frowned, confused by the conversation he was hearing and feeling a little awkward that he had to walk in on what seemed to be a fight, but he really did want to find Mason.  


Carefully, he pushed the door open, and the talking inside faltered. Two guys were standing by the kitchen counter, Theo and the guy with black hair and two black circles tattooed on his upper arm, whose name was apparently Scott, looking at him and for the first time, Liam got a good look of Theo's face.  


Theo was incredibly good-looking, as Liam had already figured out the day before, and his perfectly styled brown hair, his light stubble, the way his shirt was just a little tight on him and his perfectly beautiful green eyes took Liam's breath away.  


‘Excuse me,’ he muttered, feeling incredibly awkward as he pushed past the guys to the backdoor. With a sigh of relief he stumbled outside, glad to be out of the kitchen where he could feel the guys looking at him, and was it him, or did it suddenly get really hot in the house?  


Taking a deep breath, Liam looked around the yard, but came to the conclusion that Mason wasn't there soon enough. He must've mistaken him for someone else. Which was honestly great, because now not only had he not found Mason, he also had to get back in the house past the guys who were looking at him that made him feel awkward.  


Liam groaned in annoyance and with a sigh, he turned back towards to the backdoor, ready to go inside again, when he suddenly collided into someone.  


Liam groaned, his first thought being that his nose hurt from bumping into the person. Then, however, he heard someone mutter: ‘Shit,’ and Liam looked up.  


Straight into Theo Raeken's face.  


His heart skipped a beat, but instead of looking at him, Theo stared down at his shirt, where there was now a massive stain from the drink he had apparently dropped and spilled there when Liam had crashed into him.  


Immediately, Liam felt the need to apologize, not quite getting the words out of his mouth fast enough as he stuttered out: ‘I'm... I'm so sorry about that, can I...?’  


‘Stupid jerk!’ Theo snapped then, interrupting him. ‘Look what you did!’  


Liam stared at him, his eyes wide and his mouth dropped open in shock. He hadn't expected the guy to react like that!  


When the initial shock wore off, though, Liam could feel a wave of anger crashing around him, making it hard to focus, and he clenched his fists in hopes of staying calm. It wasn't like he did it on purpose anyway, it was an accident!  


Theo stared at him, shaking his head, and then he turned around and Liam heard him muttering something that sounded like: ‘This is why you shouldn't invite clumsy babies to parties.’  


That was it for Liam. If he had known the guy he had liked so far was such a giant asshole, he would never even have looked at him in the first place. Now all Liam saw was red, his anger taking over him, and before he knew it he had stormed forward and pushed Theo in the back, causing him to stumble and fall forward.  


‘Dude, what is your problem!?’ Theo yelled as he turned back around, to Liam. He took a step forward, and as he raised his hand and punched Liam across the jaw, hard and painfully, Liam knew he was in trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam gets in trouble at a party, and tries out for the lacrosse team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some research about lacrosse for this chapter, but I'm sorry if anything is still not accurate

Everything around him was blurry. For a moment, Liam didn't know where he was, or what he was doing, he only felt the pain on his face and in his stomach, and the red-hot anger coursing through him.  


Then, two pairs of arms suddenly wrapped around him and pulled him back, away from the person who was effectively hurting him. Vaguely, in the distance, he could hear someone shouting his name, and Liam was breathing heavily, trying to calm down. The shouting came closer, and when Liam eventually turned back into reality, he could hear Scott and Mason, who were holding him back, yelling right next to him. ‘Liam!’  


Liam panted, trying to calm his breathing, and he looked up at the big group of people standing around him. His nose hurt, probably from getting punched, repeatedly, and he could feel undeniable and irrefutable embarrassment flooding through him, and weighing him down. With flushed, heated cheeks and wide, panicked eyes, he sat down on a wooden bench on the side of the garden slowly, looking down at his lap and wishing that he could just disappear into the ground.  


As he did so though, he got a short glance of Theo's face.  


The boy's nose was bloody and red and a little bit swollen, and he was leaning forward just a little bit, clutching his stomach as if it hurt.  


The sight of it gave Liam at least a little bit of comfort, before he realized what he just thought and how messed up that was, and then it only added to his embarrassment.  


His mom was right. He really shouldn't have gone to the party tonight.  


‘Liam...’ Mason started, sounding unsure as he, Corey and Hayden were standing around him. ‘Why the hell did you do that?’  


Liam swallowed and looked down at his lap in shame, fumbling with his hands. ‘I... I don't know.’  


‘Well, I know!’ Theo snapped then, from where he was standing on the lawn, a little further away. ‘I spilled my drink because of you, and then you pushed me. You ruined my favorite shirt!’  


‘Theo,’ a guy with black hair who was standing next to Scott started. ‘Shut up, okay? No one cares about your stupid shirt, it was just an accident.’  


Lydia sighed, and turned towards Theo. ‘Look, if you want, I can get that stain out for you. I'm sure my mom has something for that.’  


‘No,’ Theo shook his head, sounding defeated as he turned around and walked back to the house. He looked and sounded completely different than a moment ago, like all the anger had fizzled out and his shoulders were slumped. ‘No, it's... It's fine. It doesn't matter.’  


Then he slammed the kitchen door behind him, leaving behind an awkward tension you could cut with a knife, which Liam didn't really understand anyway, and then a girl with medium length dark blonde hair turned around. ‘I told you we shouldn't have invited him,’ she said, with a tone as if she was absolutely right about that.  


‘Okay, wait a minute,’ the black-haired guy said then. ‘So what actually happened?’  


Scott looked at him for a moment before nodding and walking over to Liam, sitting down on the bench beside him. ‘Liam?’ he asked, in a calm and friendly voice. ‘It's Liam, right?’ He waited until Liam had nodded before continuing. ‘Are you alright?’  


Liam looked up, noticing the comforting tone in Scott's voice, and nodded. ‘Yeah. I think so.’  


Scott nodded, smiling softly. ‘Do you wanna tell me what happened?’ he asked.  


There was something calming in Scott's voice, something that made him feel like he had to answer, but that it was okay if he did, even if they didn't really know each other.  


Liam sighed, and started to answer. ‘I bumped into him when I went back inside and he just came outside, and it made him spill his drink,’ he mumbled, sounding a little defeated. ‘He called me a jerk and a baby, and then I pushed him. I... I don't know, I just... I just got angry.’  


It was the truth. It had just been a while since it happened, the last time being at his old school, before he left.  


Liam looked up, just in time to see Lydia, Scott, and the other two exchanging a weird, concerned look with each other, something unspoken only they understood, and even if Liam hoped that it wasn't about him, he suddenly got the feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.  


‘I'm telling you, we shouldn't have invited him,’ the girl, whose name Liam didn't know, whispered harshly as Scott stood up and the four of them started walking back to the house.  


‘She's right,’ Lydia said. ‘This just keeps happening.’  


‘Well, what do you want to do then?’ Scott asked, as they disappeared into the house. ‘We can't just...’  


The rest of his sentence faded away, no matter how hard Liam tried to listen, he couldn't hear it anymore. It confirmed his worries from earlier though, that something was wrong. Something about this felt very strange.  


And it had obviously something to do with Theo.  


It made Liam think, that maybe he had been a little harsh with the boy, judging him too soon. Sometimes Liam tended to do that, but the fact was that he had no idea what was going on with the boy. He had never stopped to think that something could've happened to him, something to upset him.  


Now all Liam felt was regret, real, deep regret, and he had to find a way to apologize, to make it up to him in a way that wasn't too weird or creepy when you remembered that they actually got into a fight during their first real encounter.  


Before he could think of a way, though, his thoughts were interrupted by Mason, who sat down next to him. ‘Liam...?’ he asked slowly. ‘Are you sure you're alright?’  


‘Yeah,’ Liam nodded. "I'm fine."  


‘Okay,’ Mason said. ‘Then... Will you tell me why you did that?’  


Liam looked up, and saw the curiosity and concern on his face, which was so different from the way he was used to people treating him at his old school, from the way people looked at him with sneers, caution and distrust. Mason didn't judge him. And still, Liam found himself unable to be completely honest with him. He wanted to tell Mason about what happened at Devenford, but he hadn't talked about since it did, and if he so much as thought about it, he felt more ashamed than he ever had in his whole life.  


‘I don't know,’ he said then, which was only half a lie. ‘Like I said, he called me a baby and a jerk, and I... Got angry.’  


‘Okay,’ Mason said, nodding. Something in his gaze let Liam know that Mason didn't believe him, that he knew it wasn't the whole truth, but he didn't press, didn't force Liam to explain. And Liam was extremely thankful for that, and he knew that he definitely had to pay Mason back for that later. But first... First there was something else he wanted to do.  


‘Can I ask you something?’ Liam asked.  


Mason nodded.  


‘What's... What's going on with Theo?’ Liam asked softly.  


Upon hearing his question, Mason looked up and exchanged the same kind of concerned look with Corey and Hayden that Scott did with his friends earlier, and that's when Liam knew something was definitely wrong.  


‘What?’ he asked, harsher than he meant to.  


‘Liam...’ Mason started then, sounding unsure. ‘It's not really our place to tell.’  


‘But you know something?’ Liam pressed, even though Mason didn't earlier and Liam knew how nice that felt.  


Mason looked up, receiving a encouraging look from Hayden, and he sighed. ‘Okay, listen,’ he started, as Corey and Hayden sat down on the bench as well. ‘Something happened,’ he continued. ‘Last year. And... We don't really know much, but we know it was pretty bad, and it messed Theo up. He fell out with his friends.’  


‘You mean Scott...?’ Liam asked with a frown.  


‘Yes, Scott,’ Mason nodded. ‘And Lydia, and Stiles and Malia. All of them.’  


Liam stayed silent for a moment, letting the words sink in a little before curiosity got the best of him again. ‘What was it?’ he asked. ‘The thing that happened. What was it?’  


It stayed silent for a moment, an uncomfortable silence filling the air, and then Hayden took a deep breath next to him. ‘That's the thing, Liam,’ she said. ‘That's exactly the thing that's not really our place to tell.’  


‘And...’ Mason continued. ‘You gotta keep in mind that we don't know all that much either. We didn't really know Theo personally, and we only heard stories in the hallways.’  


Liam nodded, thinking over what his classmates had said. He could understand how they didn't really know much, he knew how high school worked, knew how fast some stories could spread around until everybody knew them.  


And if something really upsetting had happened to Theo, Liam could imagine that the boy wouldn't want anyone else to find out, especially from a bunch of stupid rumours.  


Liam nodded softly, not asking any further questions, even he was still curious. He couldn't do it, because at this point, it just seemed disrespectful to Theo. ‘I understand,’ he said though, quietly. ‘But I have to apologize to him.’  


Mason looked up. ‘What?’  


‘I have to apologize to him,’ he repeated. ‘I was the one who started it.’  


‘Yeah, but only because he called you a jerk!’ Mason said defensively, as if somehow that was an excuse for it all.  


Liam shook his head. ‘No. No, I shouldn't have pushed him.’  


‘Yeah... Does that... Does that happen a lot?’ Mason asked carefully, and the unsure look on his face made it clear to Liam that he was talking about him getting angry again, despite the fact that he didn't press earlier. Liam didn't blame him for wanting to know.  


He shrugged, staring at his lap. ‘Sometimes,’ he mumbled. ‘It's kinda like... Like it builds up and then it overflows. Like a few bad things happen, and then one more thing, but that's just one thing too much, you know?’  


Mason nodded, an understanding look on his face, even though he probably didn't know.  


‘And...’ Liam continued quietly. ‘It gets worse when I'm nervous, or a little stressed.’  


‘Were you nervous for the party?’ Mason asked.  


Liam nodded. ‘And for my first day here as well. I used to press my nails into the palm of my hands, before it was time to go to school.’  


And even though he mostly did it when he was nervous, sometimes it was a signal for other negative emotions as well, like anger or frustration, though Liam didn't get too specific about that. He didn't mention Devenford Prep either. He would tell them about that when he was ready for it, maybe when he felt less ashamed about what had happened.  


‘You know,’ Corey said then. ‘It's normal to get nervous for things like that, like first days of school and that kind of stuff. And... Everyone has these kind of habits. Hayden bites her nails or plays with her hair. Mason taps his pen on the table. And I can't stop fumbling with the hem of my shirt. We all have something. But we're only human, and everyone has flaws. So it's okay.’  


‘Wow,’ Liam sighed. That was probably the most he had heard Corey say in the two days that he'd known the boy, but wow, it was impressive.  


‘And, what happened with Theo wasn't only your fault,’ Corey continued. ‘You can apologize to him, of course you can, but you can't be too mad at yourself. That's no use.’  


Liam nodded. ‘You're right,’ he said, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, at the same time that Mason let out a deep breath. ‘Wow,’ he sighed, the same way that Liam had earlier. ‘And here I was thinking that I was the wise one.’  


As Hayden and Liam started to laugh, Corey chuckled and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, leaning into him. ‘Please,’ he said. ‘You got nothing on me.’  


Mason laughed. ‘It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for,’ he chuckled.  


Liam laughed, leaning back against the bench. It was warm outside that night, and he stayed outside with Mason, Corey and Hayden a little longer before they went back inside. There, in Lydia's backyard, Liam realized that they were his friends now, not just his classmates, and he liked that.  


When they went back inside, Liam looked for Theo. He looked everywhere. But the boy was nowhere to be found. Scott, Stiles, Malia and Lydia had tired looks on their faces, which probably meant they had talked to Theo, and it hadn't ended so well. Theo must've gone home after that. Liam was a bit disappointed, because now he couldn't apologize to him, but he just had to hope that he saw him at school tomorrow and do it then. He had to.

***** 

‘I knew I shouldn't have let you go to this party!’  


His mother's voice is loud, angry, and Liam looks down at his lap with a sigh.  


After Mason, Corey and Hayden had dropped him off at home again, his mom had noticed the cut in his lip, the little bit of blood still on his nose, and Liam had told her the story of the fight. Needless to say: she wasn't happy.  


‘You told me it was gonna be okay!’ his mom ranted. ‘You told me you were gonna be okay!’  


Liam looked up, tiredly. ‘Mom,’ he sighed, sounding exhausted. ‘I am fine. Okay?’  


His mom sighed, and walked over to sit beside him. ‘You know what I mean,’ she said. ‘It was going so well, you looked so excited to go when you told me about Mason and Corey and Hayden.’  


‘I was,’ Liam responded. ‘They're the nicest people I have met in quite a while. And I slipped up, I know that. That doesn't mean it's not going to happen again. But I'm gonna try.’  


‘Really?’ his mom asked.  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah, really. Despite what I thought at first, I really feel like this could work at Beacon Hills High.’  


His mom smiled, giving him a proud look. ‘I'm glad to hear that,’ she said. ‘But, now, I think you should go to bed. It's late.’  


Liam nodded and stood up from the couch, walking to the door. His mom was right, it was pretty late. And he was pretty tired.  


His mom stopped him one last time when he reached the door though. ‘Liam?’  


‘Yeah?’ he turned back around to face her.  


‘I'm glad you're trying.’  


‘Me too, mom,’ he said with a small smile. ‘Me too.’ Then he opened the door, and walked upstairs.

***** 

The next day at school, Liam has lunch with Mason, Corey and Hayden on the bleachers again, looking out over the sports field. Some people from the lacrosse team were practicing again, including Theo, and even though he kept sending angry looks in Liam's direction, he still looked at how Theo was playing with admiration. The boy was good. Really good. Liam could see how he had been made team captain.  


Still, watching other people playing lacrosse had made Liam miss it more and more, and even though he knew it was probably a stupid idea because of what happened last time, he still wished he could be on some team.  


‘Hey,’ he said, before he really knew what he was doing. ‘Is the team gonna do try outs anytime soon, by any chance?’  


Mason, Corey and Hayden looked up, and Mason nodded. ‘Yeah, actually,’ he said. ‘Friday are try outs.’  


Liam grinned, happy to hear that. ‘Cool.’  


‘Are you gonna try to get on the team, Liam?’ Hayden asked.  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah. I used to play lacrosse at Devenford Prep, my old school. I kind of miss it, to be honest.’  


‘Were you good?’  


Liam shrugged. ‘Not incredibly so. But a little, I guess, yeah. I actually tried to be team captain on my previous school,’ he said, knowing that he was getting in dangerous territory when he talked about that. ‘But it didn't really work out.’  


And while Liam thought that that was probably an understatement, when you thought of all the things that had started to go wrong after he tried out for team captain, he didn't elaborate. He couldn't. And Mason didn't ask questions, knowing that this was about the same thing that he didn't want to talk about last night.  


Instead, he said: ‘Oh, well, you should definitely try out here. Corey was actually thinking about going to try outs too. You should go together.’  


‘Oh, no’ Corey started. ‘Mase, I don't...’  


Mason didn't listen, and clapped his boyfriend on the back. ‘Imagine how cool it would be if you both made it on the team.’  


Corey remained silent, which was probably a wise choice, but he did exchange a sort of concerned look with Liam, who snorted. Mason's habit of getting over-excited about things could get a little much sometimes. Liam didn't mind though, Mason was still his friend, and Liam liked him the way he was.  


Despite Mason's excitement though, Liam was still worried about trying out for the team, as being on a lacrosse team hadn't really ended well for him, and he was sure his mom would feel the same. When he told her about his plan to try out for the team at school, she reacted exactly the way Liam thought she would: concerned. In some way, it was incredibly frustrating, because it was only the night before that Liam had told her he was gonna try, and he thought it wouldn't hurt her to have a little more faith in him. On the other hand though, he understood, and he told her he was a little worried too. In the end though, his mom was supportive, like she always was, and if Liam wanted to try out, then of course he had to go. She trusted him to try, like he did with everything else, and this was no exception.  


That was how Liam found himself walking towards the sports field on Friday, dressed in lacrosse clothes he had borrowed from school, with Corey beside him in the same clothes. With every step towards the field, Liam felt more and more nervous, his heart beating fast and his hands sweating, and as he pressed his nails into the palms of his hands and glanced at Corey beside him, he could already tell that the boy next to him wasn't doing much better. The nervousness was rolling off of him in waves. Liam found himself wondering if they were even gonna be any good if they were this nervous.  


Lacrosse wasn't the only thing Liam was worried about, though. He'd had a quiet week, and even though he had wanted to apologize to Theo before now, he never found the courage to. Other times, Theo was simply nowhere to be found. Now, though, there was no escaping it, and even though Liam was nervous for it, he knew he had to do it now, or he never would.  


‘Well, here we are,’ Corey said, interrupting his thoughts and looking at him. ‘Are you ready for it?’  


‘I'm getting there,’ Liam replied, making a smile appear on Corey's face. ‘That's good, me too,’ he chuckled.  


‘Hey! You two!’ a third voice called then, and Liam and Corey looked up to see Coach gesturing for them to hurry up. ‘Get on the field, now!’  


Liam sighed and rolled his eyes, and made his way over to the rest of the team with his lacrosse stick in his hand and Corey following close behind him.  


As he got in line in front of the goal, he caught Theo staring at him, but quickly brushed it off again and decided to just concentrate on lacrosse for now. He just had to hope that there was a chance to apologize to him after the try outs.  


‘You!’ Coach yells, gesturing to Corey. ‘You're standing in goal for now!’  


Liam glances at his friend worriedly, watching as Corey swallows, a little panicked. Liam understood why, goal could be pretty tough after all. But he just smiled reassuringly, and said. ‘It's okay. You got this.’  
Corey smiled nervously, and simply replied: ‘I don't know if I do,’ before he put on his lacrosse helmet and walked over to the goal.  


‘Yes! If the ladies are done talking, then we can finally begin!’ Coach yelled.  


A few people who were already standing in line snickered, and Liam felt his cheeks heat up. He cast a quick glance in Theo's direction, but the boy didn't look back, and he didn't smile either. Instead, he just stood right in front of the goal and stared straight at Corey, waiting for the Coach's signal that he could begin. Liam sighed and walked to the back of the line, hoping that Theo would go easy on Corey. Although part of him already knew he wouldn't.  


The line moved quickly, and it didn't take long for Liam to end up in front of the goal. As he grabbed a ball from the ground with his lacrosse stick he tried to signal to Corey that he would go on easy on him, but the boy didn't seem to get it. He caught the ball though, quite nicely even, even though he had let quite a few slip through as well. After that, Corey seemed to be getting more confident, and Liam thought it was safe to throw his balls a little harder and faster now. Corey caught most of them anyway, and only let a few balls from Liam and Theo slip through.  


After a few times, it had started to feel like Liam was competing with Theo, like they were trying to see which one of them would throw the first ball that Corey would catch, effectively humiliating the person that did, and Liam didn't like it. He didn't like the tension and the pressure that his little game with Theo had created, and it reminded him all too much of the times he had competed with his old teammates at Devenford Prep in the same way.  


Or, rather, one teammate in particular, for the position of team captain.  


Liam felt like he was back there now, and it made him nervous. His hands were shaking, preventing him from getting a good grip on his lacrosse stick, and when he threw the ball, it slipped, and Corey caught it with ease.  


Immediately, cheering erupted from the rest of the players, some of them clapping Theo on the back and congratulating him with the fact that he was still the best player, and Liam gripped his hands around his lacrosse stick so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He could feel the anger building inside of him and had to take a few deep breaths to try and calm down again, but luckily, Corey seemed to notice. Hurriedly, he walked out of the goal towards Liam, and came to a stop beside him. ‘Liam?’ he asked softly. ‘Liam, listen to me. It doesn't matter, okay? It was one mistake, that doesn't mean you're a bad player. And it's only lacrosse.’  


Liam sighed, feeling himself calming down again. ‘You're right, I just... I don't know. It was nice to be good.’  


Corey nodded. ‘I know. But you are good.’  


Liam sighed and nodded, although he couldn't help but think: not as good as Theo though.  


Feeling determined, he made his way over to the goal, as it was his turn then. He gripped his lacrosse stick tightly, ready to do this. Ready to catch everything, even the balls the Theo threw at him. He could do this. And even if he let a few balls from him slip through, it didn't matter, because he still caught everything else.

***** 

After the try outs, Coach made it known who had made it on the team. Liam was glad to hear that he and Corey were both on the team, along with Scott, Stiles, his classmate Nolan, and some other people that Liam didn't really know. Unsurprisingly, though, Theo had been made team captain again, and even though Liam felt a bit disappointed, he couldn't help but smile for the boy.  


Beside Corey, he walked over to Mason and Hayden, who were waiting and cheering for them by the bleachers. Liam and Corey were greeted with smiles, and Mason gave Liam a high five before he hugged his boyfriend.  


‘You did it!’ Hayden smiled proudly. ‘You both did!’  


Liam nodded smiling, actually feeling rather proud himself. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘We did.’  


Despite that though, Liam felt like something was missing. He looked around the field, somehow knowing what that was, when he caught Theo standing at the side of the field, looking at Liam and his friends for the first time since the try outs started.  


And he was alone.  


Realistically, Liam knew that if he didn't do it now, he might never have another chance. So he carefully moved away from Hayden as she tried to hug him, and said: ‘I'm sorry, I... I have to do something first.’  
With that he walked away, and ignored Mason as he heard him yell his name after him. ‘Liam!’  


Instead, he followed Theo inside, and found the boy in the empty locker room, by himself.  


‘Hey,’ Liam said, a little awkward and unsure of what else to say. A minute ago this had seemed like a good idea, but now... ‘I, uh, was wondering where you were,’ he chose to say, before groaning internally. That sounded like they knew each other, but they didn't, not really. Unless you counted getting into a fight when you first met.  


‘Just in here, Dunbar,’ Theo said, sounding emotionless and not looking up from his sports bag. ‘Looks like you found me.’  


‘Yeah, well, I..." Liam started, before another thought hit him. ‘How you do my name?’  


Now, Theo did look up. ‘Are you serious? Everybody knows your name. You're pretty much known as the guy who gets into fights at parties on their second day of school.’  


Liam groaned and could feel a blush appearing on his cheeks. ‘Yeah, well, I was just here for that, actually,’ he said shyly, feeling a little awkward. ‘I wanted to apologize for that.’  


‘For what?’  


Liam sighed. ‘For the night of the party. I... I shouldn't have pushed you. I'm sorry, Theo.’  


A quick look flashed across Theo's face, something that Liam didn't recognize, but it was gone again before he could get a good look at it.  


‘Forget it, Liam,’ he said, looking and sounding a little tired. ‘It was just a party, just a fight, and I don't really care about what you do. Or about your apology. So just fuck off, and leave me alone. Okay?’  


‘But...’ Liam started to protest, when Theo swung his sports bag over his shoulder and cut him off. ‘Good,’ he said, walking past Liam to the door of the locker room. ‘Glad to see we've reached an agreement.’  


Then he was gone, leaving Liam behind with a perplexed feeling.  


That didn't go as planned, he thought.  


And to be honest, he was a little angry, a little upset, that Theo had left him hanging like that, but on the other hand, he felt determined.  


Because if Theo wouldn't accept his apology now, he would just have to try a little harder, now, wouldn't he? He would just have to try until Theo did accept it.  


And that was just what he was going to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam helps Theo. When Theo hurts his ankle, Liam takes him home, and discovers some unpleasant information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I got the part with the dollars right (since we have euro's in the Netherlands)

Liam didn't see Theo for almost an entire week after their talk in the locker room, not until the next lacrosse practice.  


Theo was already on the field when Liam and Corey arrived, shooting some goals as another teammate was standing in the goal.  


Liam slowed down a little, watching as Theo played with the same kind of aggression and determination he had played with the first time Liam had seen him, and had enjoyed so much then. Liam found that he still enjoyed it.  


‘Come on,’ Corey said, as he dropped his things by the side of the field. ‘We've got a lot of work to do if we wanna be ready to play well at the first game.’  


Liam nodded and hurried after his friend, dropping his bag and grabbing his lacrosse stick, and walking on the field.  


It was still quiet on the field, but as Liam and Corey started to throw the ball to each other, throwing and catching it with their lacrosse sticks, more and more team members started to show up. It didn't take long for everyone to be there, and Coach looked pretty happy to have the whole team there as he called everyone over.  


‘Alright, listen up everybody!’ he said. ‘When the practice starts, I expect everyone to play fair and all that crap, and have a good practice! Understood!?’  


Most team members nodded and mumbled in agreement, and then they were off, on the field. Corey had ended up in goal again, as Coach had decided that he was good enough to stay there, but Liam was placed a little further away from him, as a midfielder. Liam told himself not too worry, Corey would be fine. It was just practice, and Corey had actually proved to be pretty good.  


The team was too, to be honest. Liam could only hope that this meant that they actually had a chance of winning their first game.  


After practice, Liam stayed behind for a bit with Corey as they cleaned up their stuff into their bags a little bit, when suddenly, Coach called them over. ‘Hey, you two! Newbies!’  


Liam looked up and sighed, swinging his bag over his shoulder and walking over to Coach with Corey next to him.  


‘I want the three of you to clean up all the balls and lacrosse sticks that we used, okay?’ Coach said bluntly. ‘Just bring them to the locker room and put them away!’  


Liam furrowed his brows, wondering who else Coach meant when said 'three', but as he looked up and saw Theo standing behind Coach, a little more to the back, Liam nodded.  


That made sense.  


Coach gave them one last look, one that said 'do it now', and then he walked away. Corey stared at Theo with a frown, and Liam could've sworn he heard the older boy mutter: ‘Great.’  


Liam tried not to let it get to him, as he had already decided that he was glad to help Theo and show him that he was sorry about their fight. Besides, with what he had heard from Mason, Hayden and Corey, Theo hadn't really had the easiest time the year before, and Liam didn't mind helping him out a little and making him feel better.  


‘Come on,’ he said to Corey with a sigh. ‘We've got work to do.’  


Corey nodded and they followed Theo to the locker room with a few lacrosse sticks in their arms, making sure to keep at least a little distance between them and the older boy.  


When they got there, they put the lacrosse sticks away and walked back to the field to clean up the rest. When they returned to the locker room though, Corey was the first one to break the heavy silence that was hanging over them, making them uncomfortable.  


‘Shit,’ he mumbled, while checking the time on this phone.  


‘What?’ Liam asked, as he was just putting the last of the lacrosse sticks away and closed the doors to the cupboard.  


Corey groaned. ‘Oh, I forgot, but my mom asked me to babysit my cousin. I actually have to leave now, or I'm gonna be late.’  


‘That's fine,’ Liam said, while glancing at Theo, because somehow, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be okay with it. ‘We can finish this, you should go.’  


Corey smiled, relieved, and grabbed his bag as he ran towards the door. ‘Thanks, Liam! See you tomorrow!’  


Then he was gone, and Theo spoke up softly behind Liam. ‘Great, well done, Dunbar. Now we have to do more work.’  


Liam rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, careful to not start yelling at Theo again, and reminded himself again that Theo hadn't been through easy times (even if that wasn't technically an excuse). Then he turned around, his fists still a little bit clenched, and he sighed. ‘Well, I don't mind helping someone out,’ he said.  


Theo stared at him blankly, remaining silent, before turning around and closing the cupboard doors on his side.  


‘You know,’ Liam said, more softly this time. ‘I don't mind helping you out either.’  


Then, as if on cue, Theo seemed to have started to have a problem with closing the doors, and his frustration grew as he tried to slam them shut more forcefully. ‘Damn it!’  


‘Hey, hey!’ Liam called immediately, running over to Theo's side quickly. ‘What did that door ever do to you?’ he joked as he closed the door normally. When he looked up though, he looked into Theo's beautiful green eyes, and it was then that Liam realized that they were probably more gorgeous than he'd seen before.  


His mouth went dry, and Liam could feel his cheeks heat up. Something in his stomach fluttered.  


‘Uh,’ he stuttered, suddenly feeling like it was a lot hotter in the locker room. ‘I, uh, have somewhere to be too,’ he muttered awkwardly, as that was the best he could come up with in the strange, sudden intense, heated moment. His cheeks felt hot and as he grabbed his bag from the floor and walked backwards to the door of the locker room, Liam was sure they had to be as red as a tomato. He surely didn't blame Theo for the strange look he was giving him then.  


‘But, uh, I meant it. About the help, I mean,’ was the last thing he managed to get out before he opened the door of the locker room and stumbled outside into the hallway, where it was considerably cooler.  
Outside, Liam groaned and shook his head, facepalming himself. That was definitely not how they did it in the movies.  


Why couldn't he ever act like a normal person? There was no way anyone was ever gonna like him back like this.  


Letting out a deep sigh, Liam shook his head one more time, and started to walk down the hallway towards the exit.

***** 

As it turned though, Liam had been serious about helping Theo out. The first time he did it was when he saw Theo standing by his locker, looking a little stressed and tired, his shoulders slumped forward. He seemed to be cleaning some stuff up, but Liam thought that something about him seemed a little sad, like he wasn't as confident as he usually seemed.  


Maybe he was just having a bad day.  


Hesitantly, still remembering their last encounter when he had behaved like a fool, Liam made his way over to him, hoping that he sounded more confident than he felt. ‘Hey!’ he said, sounding chipper. ‘Everything okay here?’  


Theo didn't look at him as he answered. ‘Fine.’  


Liam clenched his fists nervously. He knew, technically, that it was still weird that he kept talking to Theo like this, but Liam still felt out of place when Theo kept giving such short answers. He didn't really know what to say to Theo like that, but the other boy just seemed so... Isolated. He seemed angry all the time, but underneath that, Liam saw something sad all of a sudden. Like the boy was hurt. He seemed like he didn't really know how to be more open with someone, or didn't want to.  


Still, Liam wanted to try.  


‘What are you doing?’ he asked, more shyly than the moment before. He couldn't help it that Theo made him feel out of place.  


‘Just cleaning some old stuff up that I don't need anymore,’ Theo mumbled, as he walked past Liam to throw away some old, crumpled up pieces of paper. Then he looked up, and asked: ‘Why are you here?’  
Liam smiled, ignoring the awkward feeling in his stomach. ‘I can help!’ he said cheerfully, not really knowing how else to act.  


‘Why?’ Theo asked.  


Liam sighed, deciding to just be honest with him. That was always the best tactic, right? ‘I don't know, Theo,’ he sighed. ‘You seemed a little lost, I guess.’  


Theo gave him a blank look, before looking away. ‘I don't need your help, I can do this on my own perfectly fine,’ he said in that same emotionless voice that Liam was so used to from him, but still, nonetheless, hadn't been there a moment ago. Liam wondered why he suddenly talked like that again.  


‘I know you can, Theo,’ he said, smiling softly. ‘All I'm saying is that you won't have to.’ He hoped he didn't come on too strong saying that.  


Theo blinked, looking at Liam with a sudden look of wonder on his face, before it disappeared again. He sighed, stepping away from his locker to make room for Liam. ‘Fine then,’ he sighed, although he didn't sound as emotionless as a moment ago, almost like he finally realized that fighting Liam's efforts was no use.  


Liam grinned, taking a look inside Theo's locker. ‘So what do we need to clean up?’ he asked.  


‘Mostly those old notes and stuff,’ Theo mumbled. ‘They're from last year anyway, I don't need them anymore.’  


‘Okay!’ Liam said cheerfully, reaching inside the locker to take one or two out, amused by how messy Theo's locker had become. Then he walked over to the trashcan to throw them away. As he did, though, he missed the way Theo stared after him with an admiring look on his face, before a blank look appeared on his face again. Together, they started cleaning out Theo's locker.

***** 

The second time Liam helped Theo out, they were standing in line for lunch in the cafetaria. Theo was standing in front of him, his tray already on the counter, and he got his wallet out of his bag to pay for it. Liam waited patiently, looking around in the cafetaria to see where his friends were sitting, when he heard Theo suddenly mumble softly in front of him. ‘Shit.’  


Liam looked up, trying to see what was happening in front of him. Theo felt inside his pockets, probably for some more money, just as the woman behind the counter asked: ‘Do you have five more, maybe?’  


‘Wait, I thought I did,’ Theo mumbled, although it quickly became clear that he didn't, and Liam stepped forward and said: ‘I can pay the rest.’  


‘Dunbar, you don't have to...’ Theo started, sounding irritated, but Liam interrupted him. ‘I'm happy to help,’ he said. He had already taken out his wallet, giving the money that Theo still had to pay to the woman.  


Theo stared at him with raised eyebrows, waiting until Liam had paid for his own food and stepped away from the counter before he said: ‘You didn't have to do that.’  


‘Yes, I did,’ Liam responded. ‘You didn't have enough money.’  


Theo remained silent for a moment, before he said: ‘Well, at least tell me when you want me to pay you back,’ his words coming out a little harsher than he probably meant.  


‘Theo,’ Liam sighed exasperated, growing a little tired with how stubborn the other boy was. ‘You don't have to pay me back. I'm happy to help.’  


‘But...’ Theo protested, but Liam cut him off with a sigh before he got a chance to finish his sentence, trying to stifle the slight feeling of annoyance he had towards Theo in that moment. He took a deep breath to try and calm down again, smiling and already feeling calmer again as he said: ‘Really, Theo. It's no trouble.’  


Theo remained silent, not knowing what to say to that. Instead, he just nodded and smiled, the tiniest smile that Liam had ever seen, that didn't even reach his eyes. Still, it made something in his chest flutter, and Liam could feel himself blushing. He smiled, and gave Theo a nod. ‘I'll, eh, see you later, Theo,’ he said, more softly this time.  


Theo stayed silent, and Liam turned around, walking to the table in the cafetaria where his friends were sitting, with his tray still in his hands.

***** 

The third time Liam helped Theo, it went a little different. They were out on the lacrosse field again, practicing, and where Liam was practicing together with Corey, it was going pretty well.  


Because of where they were standing, though, Liam didn't get a good look at what was happening on the other side of the field, and a sudden cry of pain made him jump. It was followed by someone whose name Liam believed was Josh yelling that they needed to stop, and after exchanging a concerned look with Corey, they made their way over to the other side of the field.  


Theo was sitting on the ground, clutching his ankle with a painful expression on his face, as the rest of the team surrounded him.  


‘What happened?’ Corey asked, sounding concerned.  


Coach kneeled beside Theo, carefully pushing down on his knee to see how bad it was, and asking the same thing.  


‘We were being a little too rough,’ Josh, who was standing next to Corey and Liam, explained. ‘We crashed into each other.’  


Liam looked down at Theo's ankle, which was all red and bruised and swollen, and he could already see that it was no good, and that Theo wouldn't be playing anymore today. Having a stepdad who was a doctor really did teach you some things.  


With a sigh, Liam kneeled down next to Theo and pressed down on his ankle carefully, just like Coach had done. ‘Does it hurt when I do this?’ he asked.  


Immediately, Theo groaned, clenching his jaw and gripping his ankle. ‘Yes,’ he growled. ‘That hurts.’  


Liam looked up at Coach. ‘It's fine,’ he said. ‘It's not broken or anything, but it'll need a few days to heal.’  


‘Well, how... How long is that gonna take?’ Coach asked. ‘Because we still need our team captain.’  


Liam sighed and rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling annoyed towards Coach for his complete and utter lack of concern for Theo. He managed to not let it show, though, and said: ‘Only a few days, it's not that long. I can take him home.’  


Theo groaned, trying to get up himself. ‘Not a chance,’ he grumbled. ‘I can play, it's no big deal,’ he said, only to fall back on the ground when it became clear that he couldn't stand on his sore ankle after all. Liam held back a chuckle and grabbed his wrist to help him up. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘I've got you.’  


Theo grumbled and complained an awful lot as they stood up together, but Liam tried his best to not let it get to him. Instead, he just allowed Theo to wrap his arm around his shoulders for support and said: ‘Come on. Lean on me.’  


Together, they slowly walked off the field, back to the parking lot where Theo's car was parked. When they got there, Liam let go of the other boy and Theo wanted to get in on the driver's side, but Liam didn't let him. ‘No way you're gonna drive like that,’ he said.  


‘Well, I'm not gonna let you drive my car,’ Theo responded loudly.  


Liam sighed, leaning against the car. ‘Look, it's fine if you don't trust me. I'll get over it. But right now, I just want to take you home and make sure you arrive safely.’  


A quick look of surprise flashed across Theo's face, making him look more soft and approachable, before it was gone again. He swallowed nervously, giving a silent nod and not saying anything as he got inside the car. Liam smiled, glad that Theo decided not to be too stubborn this time, as he could already feel him getting on his nerves again, and got into the car himself. As Theo handed him his keys, he started the car, and carefully drove out of the parking lot.  


The ride went by silently, with Theo only ever speaking up to give Liam the directions to his house, which gave Liam the chance to think about why Theo was so stubborn for a while. He didn't understand why Theo was so reluctant to let him help, but then Liam thought that maybe he was the stubborn one. After all, he wouldn't really take no for an answer when it came to helping Theo. And even though the older boy could get on his nerves, annoying him, Liam was starting to think that that was what he liked. It was certainly better than Theo blindly doing what he wanted, that would no doubt annoy him even more, and he was slowly learning all the right things to say to handle Theo's stubbornness.  


Liam could only hope that they could both get past the initial annoyance they still felt for each other, so that this could turn into a better friendship.  


‘This is my place,’ Theo spoke up quietly beside Liam then, interrupting his thoughts.  


Liam parked the car on the side of the road and looked out of the window, at a nice-looking average sized house surrounded by a small garden. He smiled. ‘It's nice,’ he said, awkwardly but genuinely.  


Theo avoided his gaze, staring at the house himself as he mumbled something that sounded like: ‘Thanks,’ before opening his car door. He tried to walk back to the house on his own, limping as he did so, but Liam was having none of it. He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, running after Theo to support him. Theo wordlessly accepted it this time, keeping the complaining to a minimum, much to Liam's relief. They slowly walked up the path that lead to the front door, and were only just there when the door opened and a woman with brown shoulder-length hair and a purple cardigan stepped outside.  


‘Theo?’ she asked. ‘What are you doing home so soon? What happened?’  


‘I had an accident during lacrosse practice, mom,’ Theo mumbled stiffly, pushing his way into the house past his mother. ‘It's no big deal.’  


Liam swallowed, feeling a little awkward standing there and watching Theo be rude to his mother like that. Then her eyes were on him, and she smiled softly and apologetic. ‘Are you a classmate?’ she asked.  


‘Eh, teammate,’ Liam corrected her awkwardly. ‘He hurt his ankle and I thought that driving him home was the safest thing to do.’  


‘Thank you,’ she smiled, before holding out her hand. ‘I'm Mary, Theo's mother. Would you like to come in?’  


‘Liam,’ he introduced himself. ‘Eh, no, thank you. I, eh, should probably head back.’  


‘Are you sure?’ Mary asked, holding the door open a little further. Liam hesitated, but stepped inside anyway, hoping that Theo wouldn't mind. The car, with his things in it, was locked anyway, so that didn't matter. Besides, maybe this could help him and Theo to form a little bit of a stronger friendship.  


He followed Mary to the living room, but when he got there, Theo wasn't there. He heard Mary sighing softly behind him. ‘I think he went upstairs,’ she muttered.  


Liam nodded, actually feeling a little bit guilty that Theo seemed so short with her, when she was, in fact, perfectly nice.  


‘Sit anywhere you like, Liam,’ Mary said then, sounding a bit more cheerful. ‘Would you like some tea?’  


Liam nodded, slowly sitting down on the grey sofa in the living room and looking around as Mary disappeared into the kitchen. It was a nice room, it looked warm, with two big windows next to a wooden dinner table that had six soft-looking chairs in different colors standing by it and a lamp hanging from the ceiling. On the other side of the living room, there were two grey sofa's that Liam was sitting on, with little pillows on them, and in the middle stood a small, wooden coffee table. Across from the sofa, there was a TV, and there was enough light in the living room due to the big glass doors that led to the garden. On one wall, there was a big bookcase that almost covered the entire wall, and was filled with books, knick-knacks and pictures. On some of the pictures, Liam saw Theo, some of them from when he was still younger, and Liam stood up to get a better look at them. He wandered around the living room to the bookshelf, taking a look at one of the younger photos of Theo, where he was probably a year or four old and was sitting on a blanket on the lawn in the garden.  


It wasn't just a picture of him though. Next to him sat a girl that looked like him, only a year or two older, who Liam guessed was his sister. They both grinned at the camera happily, sitting close to each other with their hands linked together.  


Another picture showed Theo being a year or twelve, and the girl sitting on his back with one arm in the air. Theo looked up at her as best as he could, with a big smile on his face. Liam smiled.  


Both of those pictures, though, were a big contrast with a more recent one that had probably been taken not all too long ago, where Theo seemed impatient, waiting with dark eyes until the picture was finally taken. The girl was nowhere to be seen.  


Liam frowned, looking back at the older pictures with so much concentration that he didn't notice Mary coming back in with a tray with tea and cookies.  


‘They're nice, aren't they? Those pictures?’ she said, and Liam jumped.  


‘I...’ He started, startled. ‘I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to...’  


‘It's no problem,’ Mary smiled, putting the tray down on the table. ‘Pictures are meant to be looked at.’  


Liam nodded, reassured, a silent question burning on his tongue. As if she could read his mind, Mary nodded towards the pictures and said: ‘That's Tara. She was Theo's older sister, and my eldest child.’  


Liam nodded, although there was one word in that sentence that didn't sit right with him, that he was almost scared to ask about. ‘Was?’  


Mary nodded, her smile suddenly gone from her face, and she sat down on the sofa. Liam did the same thing, as Mary explained. ‘She... She died last year. There was a car crash, and...’  


Liam pressed his nails into the palm of his hands, uncomfortably, as a feeling of dread washed over him. He suddenly had a bitter taste in his mouth. Mary didn't have to finish that sentence for him to know how it was gonna end, and Liam had no idea what to say. What would you say in a situation like that, when all he felt was shock?  


A soft sound made him look up and Mary sniffled, dabbing softly at her eyes. Liam shuffled his feet over the wooden floor, and Mary looked up, sighing. ‘I'm sorry,’ she said. ‘I shouldn't be dumping this kind of information on you like that.’  


Liam swallowed nervously. ‘No, it's okay,’ he said, knowing that he meant it. ‘Sometimes it's better to get it all out.’  


‘Hmm,’ Mary smiled, pouring the tea for the both of them. ‘That's certainly true. I just... Wish that Theo would know that too.’  


Almost as if on cue, they heard a crashing coming from upstairs, and Liam looked up. It sounded like Theo had thrown or kicked something, out of frustration. Mary sighed, sounding sad as she said: ‘It was really hard for him. I mean, it was for all of us, of course. And it still is. But Theo... It really hit him hard.’  


Liam remained silent, taking a small sip from his tea, and thinking over Mary's words, still feeling shocked by it all. Theo had a sister, one that he was probably close with from the way Mary talked about them, and Liam understood how hard that must've been for Theo. How hard it still was. And suddenly he understood everything a little better.  


‘I think...’ Mary interrupted his thoughts softly. ‘That it would be easier for him, and for us, if he just talked to us once in a while.’  


The statement brought tears to Mary's eyes and suddenly Liam was shaking, standing up to sit beside her.  


‘Instead, he just...’ Mary continued shakily. ‘Ignores us, never lets us know how he feels. Sometimes it feels like I've lost both of my children.’  


And then she was crying, leaving Liam with a helpless feeling. He had no idea what to do, now that he walked into a situation like that. His heart was racing and he knew that he had to do something, but he was just a boy that barely even knew Theo, and then he was suddenly drowning in all the horrible information. Liam swallowed, feeling the dread wash over him, and he tried to do the best he could in that situation.  


He placed his hand on top of hers, making her look up. ‘I'm sorry,’ she sighed. ‘This is just unfair to you.’  


Liam shook his head, clearing his head a little, and suddenly knew what to say. ‘No. I meant what I said earlier. Sometimes it's better to get it all out,’ he said sincerely.  


Even if he hadn't yet.  


Mary nodded. ‘You're right,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’  


Liam looked up. ‘He will... Talk about it. When he's ready,’ he said.  


‘You think so?’ Mary asked hopefully.  


Liam nodded. ‘I do.’  


‘Me too, Liam,’ she said. ‘Me too.’  


Liam smiled, glad that the tension from the situation had faded away. He finished his tea with Mary, as Theo didn't come downstairs anymore, but once he had, he shifted around in his seat uncomfortably. He was almost afraid to speak up, but had forgotten that Mary seemed to be able to read minds.  


‘You have to go home, don't you?’ she asked gently.  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah. I'm sorry...’  


Mary cut him off. ‘Don't apologize. It was me who made this afternoon different than you thought it would be,’ she said.  


‘It will be alright,’ Liam said, truly meaning it. It was for him. After his old school he wasn't sure it would be, but he truly felt alright at his new school. Mary and Theo would too, even if it might take a little longer.  


Mary nodded, and stood up. ‘I think you're right. Thank you for bringing him home,’ she said, as she walked with him to the front door.  


‘Really, it was no problem at all, Mrs. Raeken,’ Liam said.  


‘Oh, call me Mary,’ she smiled, as she opened the front door.  


Liam nodded, smiling as he stepped outside. He had actually hoped that Theo would come downstairs to say goodbye, but he understood. He understood everything a little better now.  


As he said goodbye to Mary, got his stuff out of the car, and walked down the street then, he thought over everything they had said that afternoon once more. It certainly wasn't the afternoon he thought he would have, and deep down he still felt shocked by the fact that Theo had lost his sister and that that information had crashed down on him like a rock, but it did help to shine some light on the whole situation.  


He finally felt like he understood the mystery that was Theo Raeken a little more, and as he walked down the street, he could only hope that, in time, Theo would allow him to see the whole picture.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott tells Liam something he didn't know. Theo asks Liam for help, and they talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really hard to write, very complicated, and I had to try really hard to make sure Scott and Liam's conversation went exactly right. In fact, this whole chapter was very hard to write. But I think I got it.

‘Why are you so set on helping this guy out?’ Mason asked, the Saturday after the lacrosse incident when they were sitting in their regular coffeeshop that they were showing Liam for the first time.  


Liam looked up slowly, knowing that the question was directed at him, and didn't stop stirring his coffee. ‘Because...’ he said. ‘No one else does.’ In hindsight, Liam knew that that probably wasn't true, as his parents seemed to care about him very much, but still. ‘Every time I see him, he's alone.’  


‘Liam...’ Hayden said, worriedly. ‘You know it's not just your job to help him, right? I mean, it's really nice that you do, don't get me wrong, but you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. And you can't force your help, either.’  


‘I know, but...’ Liam started, but Mason interrupted him.  


‘And you've been only at this school for like two weeks,’ he said carefully. "Maybe you should... Focus on that a bit more.’  


It was said in a tone like Mason knew it would annoy Liam, and Liam sighed. It did annoy him, his friends acting like they knew better than him, but he also knew they meant well. They were just looking out for him.  


‘I just... Don't want you to feel too much pressure,’ Mason explained, taking a sip from his coffee.  


Liam smiled. ‘I know,’ he said. ‘Thanks.’ That said, though, Liam knew it wasn't likely that he was gonna stop helping Theo. Not when he knew what it was like to feel all alone. He wouldn't want that for anyone else.  


‘I have to say, though,’ he said then, when the thought had disappeared from his mind. ‘That I feel pretty comfortable at school, with you guys. I didn't think I would, but you've all been really nice to me, and made me feel welcome.’  


‘Aww,’ Hayden said, smiling happily. ‘That's sweet.’  


Liam smiled, because it was true. He couldn't remember many times in his life where he'd been as nervous as on his first day at his new school, but Mason, Corey and Hayden really did make him feel welcome. They made him feel alright at school, like maybe it wasn't so bad or scary after all, and Liam couldn't remember feeling this relaxed at his old school, like he belonged there. He felt at peace, like he hadn't for so long at his old school, and it was nice, to fit in somewhere again. He was happy, and that did wonders for his anger as well.  


‘Are we still gonna watch a movie tonight?’ Hayden asked then, changing the subject.  


‘Yeah,’ Mason said. ‘My place at seven, like every Saturday.’  


Liam smiled, enjoying the little traditions of his friendship group, the things they did together, and happy that they kept inviting him and that he was a part of it now. They continued to make him feel included, and he liked it.  


Today, though, they had planned to do some more things together. Hayden had wanted to buy a new shirt and Corey had to get some things for his mom, and so they'd decided it would be fun to do it all together.  


‘Should we go then?’ Mason asked, once they'd all finished their coffee.  


Hayden nodded, and once they'd payed for their drinks they walked out of the coffeeshop, back into the mall.  


A little further before them, then, Liam suddenly saw Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia, together, slowly strolling past the shops. They looked happy together, like friends did, but Liam just wondered if they had once looked like that when Theo was with them as well. It made him angry, knowing that they ditched Theo as soon as things got difficult, that they threw Theo out of their little group and still had the nerve to look so happy while Theo didn't even have his friends anymore. Still, Liam didn't show it, as Scott and Stiles were on the lacrosse team as well, and even though he was bitter about the Theo thing, Scott actually seemed really nice.  


‘Hey, Liam. Hey, guys,’ Scott said, smiling, as soon as they were close enough to hear it.  


Liam smiled, greeting them back, before Scott said: ‘You guys taking a break from homework and all that stress too?’  


‘Yeah,’ Hayden sighed with a small smile on her face. ‘Just doing some shopping cause some of us need to get some stuff, and...’ Her voice faded away as she walked to the front, where the rest of the group was, and with all of them together they slowly strolled past the shops, despite it being the first time that both of their little friendship groups were together like this.  


Liam stayed behind a little, walking next to Scott behind the rest of their friends. ‘Do you like it at school so far?’ Scott asked.  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah. I wasn't sure I would, I was pretty nervous to go, but everything is pretty relaxed and they…’ He nodded towards Mason, Corey and Hayden in front of them, ‘Are awesome.’  


Scott grinned. ‘Happy to hear that,’ he said, before turning more serious again and looking at Liam. ‘Listen,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to thank you for taking Theo home after lacrosse the other day. You didn't have to do that.’  


Liam shrugged, looking at the ground with his hands in his pockets. ‘I wanted to,’ he mumbled. ‘I just wanted to help him.’  


Scott smiled and nodded. ‘I understand that,’ he said. ‘Theo deserves your help.’  


Liam looked up, a wondering look on his face. ‘Would you have done it? If I hadn't, I mean?’ He remained silent for a moment, thinking over his next words before he spoke them. ‘When I took him home, his mother invited me in.’ Carefully, slowly, Liam explained what had happened at Theo's house and what Mary had told him, hoping that Theo would be okay with it, even if Scott probably already knew. Worriedly, he looked up, searching for a reaction.  


‘She told you about Tara?’ Scott asked, seeming a little surprised.  


Liam nodded, still hoping that he didn't cross any lines, and Scott sighed. ‘We...’ He gestured towards Malia, Lydia and Stiles in front of them, ‘Have tried to help Theo a lot. He pushed us away.’  


Liam remained silent, thinking over Scott's words as he stopped walking. ‘Come on,’ Scott said, before leading him over to a bench so they could talk, and texting his friends to let them know where they were. He stayed silent for a moment to think over his next words, before he continued to explain. ‘Mary probably told you how... hard Tara's death was for Theo. But we saw it too, at school.’  


Liam listened quietly, as Scott continued to tell the rest of the story. ‘We went to the funeral, but... Theo didn't really speak to us. We didn't mind. We wanted to give him all the space he needed, but we just weren't sure how much that was.’  


Liam nodded softly, thinking that maybe he'd been a bit quick to jump to conclusions. Again.  


‘After the funeral, Theo didn't come to school for two weeks, and even though we visited sometimes, we weren't really sure when it was too much. Theo didn't really want to see us, though, he mostly stayed up in his room.’  


Scott had a pained expression on his face, and he stared at his lap as he continued. ‘We could only hope that he would talk to us when he came back to school, but he avoided us instead. We tried to let him know that we were there when he needed us, as often as we could, but he didn't want to talk to us.’  


Liam pressed his lips together, feeling a heavy, guilty feeling in his stomach for making Scott talk about this and just got ready to tell him that he didn't have to, when Scott opened his mouth again. ‘For a while, Theo hang out with these people that just seemed... Bad. Like, they were bad news and they seemed dangerous, with how they always intimidated people on the streets during the day, and how they always herded together in a group to seem big and scary. And then there was the... Well, we...’ Scott gestured to his friends, who had kept walking, ‘We didn't know for sure, but there was undoubtedly the thing with whatever shady business they were wrapped up in at the time. They didn't give a shit about Theo. But he didn't seem to mind. He was with them anyway. He just wanted to forget about everything for a moment, I think.’  


Liam nodded in understanding, his mind working fast in order to keep up with the complicated kind of information Scott was telling him. Up until now he'd just been annoyed, a little angry even, with Scott and his friends that they had just ditched Theo when he needed them. But now it seemed not even that was as simple as he thought. Nothing was. And Liam felt overwhelmed getting wrapped up in it all.  


‘We tried to tell him sometimes, that he should be careful,’ Scott continued, interrupting Liam's thoughts. ‘But he never listened to us, and it was a bit of a sore spot. He got angry every time we did, and he yelled at us. He said that we didn't understand, and that we never would. And I think that that was the first time Stiles and Malia, in particular, grew tired with it all.’  


Liam nodded, as Scott continued. ‘It ended then, though,’ he said. ‘He stopped hanging out with them, less and less over time.’ He took a deep breath, before talking again. ‘He then dedicated all of his time to lacrosse, and became very committed to it. He started hanging out with Josh and Jackson, and some other team members, and even though they didn't seem to have the most friendly relationship, they spent a lot of time on the field. I like to think it was a healthier distraction, but he became almost obsessed and worked very hard to become team captain.’  


Liam nodded, thinking back on when he had brought Theo home after he hurt his ankle. Suddenly he understood why Theo had been so frustrated then.  


‘I worried sometimes that he pushed himself too far,’ Scott said, ‘But lacrosse seemed to help him. That was also the time he got together with Tracy. Stiles, Malia, Lydia and I tried to talk to him sometimes, especially because it looked like he acted normally with other people, but he didn't really want to talk to us. I guess he was serious about us not understanding, and not wanting to talk to us. The few conversations we had were tense, and we could feel it getting more tense each time, until everyone just snapped. Theo wanted us to just leave him alone, and we were running out of ideas to help him. Stiles and Malia were so annoyed that they didn't want to anymore, and Lydia thought it was better for everyone to keep a little distance as well, so we could all cool down. And to be honest... I think I agreed with her. There's only so much you can do. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.’  


Liam stared down at his lap, clenching his fists as he remembered when Hayden had said the exact same words earlier.  


Scott sighed, causing Liam to look up. ‘After that, Theo sort of... Isolated himself. He still hang out with Josh and Jackson and the team, sometimes at lunch or between classes, but it was more about lacrosse now. They sort of... Hang out because he had to. I think he found it easy, being alone. The only one he still really hangs out with from time to time is Tracy, but I'm not sure how well that's going. They seem to argue a lot.’  


Liam remembered the first time he had seen Theo, when he and Tracy had argued too, and he nodded, looking up at Scott. ‘But you sometimes still help him, right?" he asked. "Like at...’  


‘Lydia's party?’ Scott asked, sighing. ‘Yeah. I try to, as far as he lets me. But like I said, there's only so much you can do, and Stiles keeps telling me that I shouldn't. I know he's just looking out for me, and he and Malia are more than happy to move on. But... It doesn't feel right, you know? I know Theo, and he was never like this. He was our best friend, and very nice. So...’  


‘So you still help,’ Liam finished, glad that he was wrong about Scott and his friends, and that it wasn't as simple as them ditching Theo when he needed them.  


‘Yeah,’ Scott replied. ‘Even if it's getting tiring, and I should know better.’  


Something about that statement didn't sit right with Liam. He remembered Scott and Theo's short conversation in the kitchen in Lydia's house, and how it didn't go exactly well, but every time Liam had tried to help Theo, the other boy had seemed surprised, like he didn't expect it, but seemed to appreciate it the tiniest bit as well. That had to mean something, right? Liam wasn't ready to give up yet.  


‘Still,’ Scott said then. ‘I'm sorry for dumping all this information on you.’  


‘Is okay,’ Liam mumbled, fumbling with his hands. He was grateful that Scott had told him. The whole story was messy, it was complicated and overwhelming, but it helped Liam understand everything a little bit more. Theo really struggled with his sister's death. He struggled a lot, more than Liam expected. And it made him wonder if there was still a part of the story he was missing.  


‘Again, though,’ Scott said then, interrupting his thoughts. ‘Thanks for bringing him home after lacrosse.’  


Liam nodded, thinking that he was glad to do it.  


Then, their friends returned, with Stiles at the front. ‘Everything okay here?’ he asked worriedly.  


‘Yeah,’ Scott said with a sigh, looking at Liam. ‘I think so.’  


Liam gave him a small smile and they stood up, all while Stiles was shooting a wary look in Liam's direction. ‘You told him?’ he asked Scott, unsurely.  


Scott nodded. ‘Yeah. I think he deserved to know.’  


Liam couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, standing there when Scott and Stiles talked about him like he wasn't there, but then Lydia, Stiles and Malia turned to him.  


‘Be careful with what you say,’ Lydia said, both to Scott and to Liam. ‘We shouldn't cross any lines.’  


It was then that Liam realized that they may have already done that, with them constantly talking about Theo without even knowing if he was okay with it. Liam knew about a lot that had happened to him now, but it wasn't Theo who had told him. And that suddenly made Liam feel very guilty.  


That night, at Mason's house during the movie, he couldn't stop thinking about it either. Mason must have noticed, but he didn't say anything about it, much to Liam's relief. He liked the fact that he understood Theo better now, but he didn't like the fact that it didn't come from Theo himself. How was Liam supposed to know now if Theo was even okay with him knowing all of this stuff?  


Liam let out a deep sigh, earning him strange looks from Hayden, Mason and Corey, but he didn't mind. He was definitely gonna have to find a way to carefully explain to Theo what happened, and make it up to him.

***** 

The week after that, on Tuesday, Liam also had his first history test. He had slightly less time to study for it than his classmates, due to him being new, but as they got the results back on Friday, that didn't seem to matter.  


‘Dude,’ Mason laughed, as they were standing by his locker. ‘I can't believe you got one of the highest grades of the class. You had less time to study than the rest of us.’  


Liam grinned, looking at his test. ‘I just like history,’ he said honestly.  


It also happened to be one the few things he was truly good at.  


‘Well, it shows,’ Mason chuckled. ‘You're really good at it, like, naturally good. Congrats, man.’  


‘Thanks,’ Liam laughed, looking up just as Theo walked by. He didn't look at them, but there was a little sunshine shining on Theo, lighting up his eyes, and Liam couldn't believe how beautiful he looked in that moment.  


If he was staring, Mason didn't comment on it.  


Then, Liam checked the time on his phone, and was startled when he saw how late it actually already was. ‘I have to go to lacrosse practice!’ he exclaimed. Hurriedly, he swung his bag over his shoulder and started walking down the hallway.  


‘Yes, hurry!’ Mason called after him. ‘You don't want to miss that!’  


Liam chuckled, rolling his eyes at Mason's joke. He turned around and gave a little wave, as Mason said: ‘I'll see you later!’  


Liam nodded, before he turned back around and walked out the door.

***** 

Lacrosse practice went well, Liam thought. Not only was he starting to work better with the other team members, he was starting to work better with Theo as well.  


Liam noticed it when they were out on the field. More than once now, they had worked together, knowing what the other wanted to do just by looking at each other, and they effortlessly managed to score a few goals. Liam liked it. He hadn't played lacrosse like that in ages, at his old school it had mostly been a competition with other team members.  


This was different. They worked with each other. And it was a bit unexpected when you thought about the fact that they weren't like that at all outside of the field, but Liam liked it. It calmed him down, didn't make him angry. And that was why he had started playing lacrosse in the first place.  


He hoped he could work like that with Theo outside of the field eventually too.  


It was after the practice that Liam noticed that Theo looked worried. He was standing with Coach, a worried look on his face, and they seemed to be talking about something serious. Then, Corey came up to him and said: 'Nicely played, Liam. You did well just now.’  


Liam grinned. ‘Thanks.’ He felt good about lacrosse today too. Together, they started to walk of the field, when a voice behind them suddenly startled Liam.  


‘Hey! Dunbar, wait up!’  


Surprised, Liam turned around to see Theo coming up to him, and stared at the other boy with a questioning look on his face. ‘What's up?’  


‘I need you to help me,’ Theo said bluntly, out of the blue.  


Well. That was something Liam didn't expect.  


After exchanging a look with Corey, that Liam now hoped didn't scare Theo off, he said as sincerely as he could: ‘Eh, okay. Sure! What with?’  


‘Eh...’ Theo scratched his neck, and Corey sighed. ‘You know what, I'm just gonna go get changed already.’  


With that, he walked away, and Liam turned back to Theo, smiling. ‘Sorry, what were you gonna say?’  


‘I need you to help me,’ Theo repeated, and yes, blunt Theo was back, apparently. ‘I heard you say that you were good at history, before practice, and that's good, because I'm not, and if I don't get my grades up, Coach will kick me off the team, and I can't have that.’  


It was a long sentence, a lot to take in, and Liam frowned. ‘You want me to help you, with history?’ he asked slowly.  


Theo nodded.  


‘But... That doesn't make any sense,’ Liam muttered. "You're...’  


‘A year above you?’ Theo asked sharply. "Yeah, I'm aware of that.’  


Liam remained silent, taken aback by the fact that Theo didn't seem to care that they were doing completely different things in their history lessons, and that he had suddenly asked for help. Liam didn't mind, of course not, but it was just... Up until now, Theo had been very wary of his help, barely even accepted it, and now he was asking for it.  


Theo sighed loudly, interrupting Liam's thoughts. ‘Listen, Dunbar, if you don't want to help, I can find someone else who will. But you're always going on about how you want to help me, so here's your chance. I'm really struggling with my grades at the moment, and if you're good at history, no matter what we're working on, then you can help me.’  


It sounded a bit demanding, but Liam could hear the slight upset undertone as well. He didn't have to ask why Theo was struggling with his grades, after all, he knew all about it, and he still felt guilty about it. He remembered Scott telling him why lacrosse was so important for Theo, and he understood why Theo didn't want to get kicked off the team; he wouldn't want that either.  


A loud sigh interrupted his thoughts, and Theo started to turn away from him. ‘Forget it,’ he said, sounding a little defeated. ‘Forget I asked.’  


‘Theo!’ Liam called immediately, and Theo looked up. Liam smiled. ‘Of course I want to help. I thought I made that clear.’  


Theo looked up, into Liam's eyes, and his green eyes seemed to shine a little, as far as that was possible, and the corner of his mouth was turned up just slightly. ‘Okay, good,’ he said, and Liam suddenly started to feel a little hot again. ‘Should we discuss a time and place then?’

***** 

They decided to meet up at Liam's place, the next day.  


When it was time, Liam found that he was strangely excited. He'd already told his mom, and she was happy for him that he was excited about something.  


When the doorbell rang, Liam was at the door quickly, opening it and smiled at Theo standing on the doormat.  


‘Okay, Dunbar, let's just get this over with,’ Theo said before Liam even had a chance to open his mouth, stepping over the doorstep. ‘The sooner we're done with this, the better.’  


Liam smiled after him, closing the door. He wasn't quite sure what kind of hello he would get with Theo, and it wasn't this, but it was certainly like Theo. Liam was glad to see that Theo hadn't changed just because he visited his house for the first time. He was starting to think that he liked it better when Theo was a little rude.  


With a smile on his face, he followed Theo to the living room, and said: ‘You can sit down already, if you want. Do you want something to drink?’  


‘No, thank you,’ Theo said, already taking his books out of his bag and pleasantly surprising Liam when he actually said thank you.  


‘Man, you're really serious about finishing this quickly, aren't you?’ Liam chuckled, a little disappointed.  


‘Yep,’ Theo responded without pause, as Liam moved to sit beside him.  


‘Okay,’ he mumbled, unable to keep his disappointment from showing through his voice. He pulled Theo's books closer to him to see what it was about, not looking at him, as Theo gave a quick, quiet explanation of what they were working on in history class at the moment.  


It was nice, a subject that Liam liked and understood, and he was sure he could explain it to Theo. His excitement already came back a little as he talked about it, but his short conversation with Theo still left a bad taste in his mouth, thinking that this would be a lot easier if he knew that Theo enjoyed this just the slightest bit.  


He didn't know, though, that Theo did enjoy it. The older boy listened to him in a way that he never really did in his history classes, and he had no trouble at all to keep paying attention. Liam flicked through the pages, mostly while avoiding Theo's gaze, and their homework was only interrupted when Jenna walked into the living room.  


‘Hey boys,’ she smiled, walking up to them. ‘You must be Theo.’  


Theo nodded, looking up at her.  


‘I'm Jenna,’ she introduced herself. ‘Is everything going alright?’ she asked, taking a look at the history books.  


‘I think so,’ Liam responded quickly, before, more quietly: ‘I hope so.’  


Jenna chuckled. ‘Do you guys want some tea, maybe?’  


Liam shook his head. ‘Nah, I think we're almost done anyway. It was just some quick explaining.’  


Beside him, Theo let out a soft sigh, and Liam didn't know if he was imagining things, or if that actually sounded a little disappointed.  


Jenna smiled, looking from Theo to Liam with a look in her eyes that Liam didn't really understand, but didn't matter. He looked down at the history books again, explaining the last bit of it that Theo said he needed to know. Jenna left them alone again, and when she did, they were done soon enough. Liam closed the books, looking up at Theo. ‘Do you understand everything a little now?’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo replied, looking into his eyes as he did, and gathering his books.  


Liam remained silent, waiting for Theo to pack all of his stuff. Then he stood up, walking with him to the front door, and opening it. They only stayed inside for a little longer to discuss when they should meet up next, and when they'd decided to do it the week after, Theo stepped outside.  


‘Okay,’ he said. ‘See you then.’  


‘Yeah,’ Liam said, forcing a smile that slowly faded away again as he watched Theo walk down the street, and he mumbled: ‘See you then.’

***** 

The second time they did homework together, the next week on Saturday, Theo decided to just ask the question. ‘Why are you so nice to me?’  


Surprised, Liam looked up, a little taken aback by the genuine expression on Theo's face and his furrowed brows, as he waited for an answer.  


‘I'm not,’ he said, before realizing that that wasn't right. ‘I mean, not incredibly so, I think.’  


Theo sighed, raising his eyebrows. ‘You're constantly helping me, even if I ask it in a really rude way. That's nice, Dunbar.’  


Liam sighed, looking up. ‘Yeah, well, you could try not being rude,’ he said irritatedly.  


Theo looked a little taken aback, but then he sighed and pushed the history books away a little. ‘Okay, so you know how I asked you to help me with history because I didn't want to get kicked off the team?’  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah.’  


‘Yeah, well, I really can't get kicked off the team,’ Theo said, his voice getting softer at the end of the sentence, before he mumbled: ‘Lacrosse is the most important thing in my life.’  


‘I know,’ Liam replied, more gentle this time. ‘Scott told me...’  


He knew, before he even finished his sentence, that he made a mistake. Theo's head shot up, and he stared at Liam with dark eyes. ‘What did Scott tell you?’ he asked, with a clenched jaw and a low, shaky voice in a threatening tone. He was nervous, and it made him angry. Liam saw it clearly, one of the reasons being that he felt that way before too.  


He looked up, into Theo's eyes. ‘Everything,’ he said softly.  


Theo's eyes were dark, and a sudden, panicked look had settled upon his face as he tried to work out what 'everything' meant. Liam swallowed. He never meant to do this to Theo.  


‘I'm sorry,’ he stuttered out quickly. ‘I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so nosy.’  


‘No!’ Theo snapped. "You're right. You shouldn't have.’ He shoved his chair back, harshly, and stood up. ‘I'm leaving.’  


Liam turned around in his seat panickedly, not wanting everything to end on a bad note like this. ‘Your mother told me,’ he said, as calm and softly as he could.  


Theo stopped, pausing his shoving his books into his bag for a moment, and looked up. ‘What!?’  


Liam pressed his nails into the palms of his hands, feeling nervous under Theo's gaze. ‘Yeah, I saw some of the pictures when I brought you home when you hurt your ankle. Your mom told me about the...’ Accident, he thought.  


‘What did she tell you?’ Theo asked.  


‘She told me that there was an accident,’ Liam said honestly. ‘And then Scott told me what happened between you guys.’  


‘Of course he did,’ Theo muttered bitterly, sounding tired more than anything else.  


‘Theo, I'm sorry,’ Liam mumbled. ‘After Scott's story, I already worried that I crossed a line, and I'm sorry.’  


‘Yeah, you said that.’ Theo stared at Liam with a blank expression on his face, but his eyes weren't nearly as dark as Theo probably tried to look.  


‘Yeah, because it's true,’ Liam said softly, before deciding to change the subject and try something else. ‘You know, you said lacrosse was the most important thing in your life. But it is pretty important to me too.’  


Theo raised his eyebrows, and Liam decided to just take it as a sign to go on. He took a deep breath, because he had no idea how to start, and talking about what happened at his old school honestly kinda terrified him. He hadn't told Mason about it, even if he wanted to, and he hadn't even really discussed it with his parents. But now, he knew that he wanted to tell Theo about it, he really wanted to, to let him know that he trusted him, and he could trust Liam as well.  


‘I used to play lacrosse at Devenford Prep as well. My old school,’ he started shakily. ‘I was on the team, with my old best friend Brett, and we were both trying hard to become team captain.’  


Liam took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. ‘We were both good, but Brett was just a little better. He had slightly more chance to become captain, and I think we both knew that.’ He swallowed, before continuing. ‘I think the rest of the team knew it too. When we started, Brett and I played with each other, but that slowly changed over time. We couldn't both be captain, so it kinda turned into a competition between us. Me against Brett. But most people on the team seemed to prefer Brett over me, and that didn't help me. I wanted to win from him so badly, I tried so hard, and I started to get more and more frustrated. It kinda made me forget why I had started to play lacrosse in the first place, and then it suddenly wasn't all so much fun anymore. It had turned into a competition, when it shouldn't be.’  


Liam then noticed that at some point during his story, Theo had moved to sit beside him again, his eyes still dark, but somehow softer at the same time, much to Liam's relief.  


‘It was too much,’ he said, looking away from Theo as he felt sick to his stomach again just thinking about it. ‘The whole thing just made me angry, knowing that everyone saw how I got so frustrated and them turning against me as a result, choosing Brett's side instead, and before I knew what I was doing, I...’ he took a deep breath. ‘I wrecked my coach's car.’  


Liam looked up, but for some reason, and Liam's Incredible relief, Theo wasn't laughing at him, just sat there waiting for him to continue. So Liam did. ‘I wrecked my coach's car because I couldn't control my anger anymore, it was just too much, and everybody saw it. There's even a video of it, here,’ Liam said, reaching out to his phone, but Theo shook his head.  


‘I don't need to see it,’ he said simply, and Liam's heart skipped a beat. He nodded, sighing. ‘Okay. Well... After that, I got kicked out of school, and I came here,’ he finished his story. ‘I haven't really told anyone about it until now.’  


They stayed quiet for a while, and Theo stared straight ahead, taking it all in. ‘Why did you start playing lacrosse?’ he asked then, after a few minutes.  


‘What?’  


‘You said you forgot why you had started playing lacrosse,’ Theo reminded him a little impatiently. ‘Why was that?’  


‘My stepdad made me, actually,’ Liam laughed nervously, pleasantly surprised by Theo's simple, unexpected question. ‘He thought it would be good, and it was. I used to work together with other team members, before it went wrong. That made me feel calmer, and it was the best feeling ever.’ Liam hesitated for only a moment before he said: ‘It was kinda like how we played last time. Just... Working together. First, it was kind of a competition between us too, but last time was different. That was why I started playing lacrosse.’  


Theo swallowed, and nodded. He stayed silent for a minute before he asked: 'Do you get these angry issues often?'  


‘Sometimes,’ Liam replied honestly, staring ahead. ‘Like... Like at Lydia's party.’  


Theo's eyes widened. ‘Seriously!?’  


Liam chuckled, and nodded, glad that they seemed to be able to talk normally for a moment. ‘Yeah, seriously.’  


They stayed silent for a moment, just sitting next to each other quietly, before Liam turned to Theo again with a more serious expression on his face. ‘Theo, I'm sorry,’ he said again. ‘I went too far, and I shouldn't have done that.’  


Theo blinked, trying to keep his face blank, which didn't work when a soft look appeared in his eyes. He swallowed. ‘Don't worry,’ he mumbled as he looked away ‘Scott's gonna pay for that.’  


Liam smiled softly, and they were silent again. Liam thought about the story of his old school he had told Theo, and even though he was still nervous about it, it felt sort of good to get it off his chest. Theo's reaction had been good, much to Liam's relief, not what he expected at all.  


After a few minutes, Theo stood up and gathered his books, deciding that they should continue history a week later. Liam agreed, and so they discussed a time and place for the week after. They walked to the front door together, where they said goodbye. Then Theo was gone, and Liam watched him walk down the street for only just a second. He couldn't deny that things felt a little different between them now, and Liam could only hope that they stayed that way. With a smile on his face, he closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those bad guys that Scott told Liam about? Feel free to interpret those as some version of Dread Doctors or something, if you want :)  
> Also, I hope that Theo and Liam's relationship development isn't rushed in this story (sometimes it kinda feels like it is). Tell me what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo and Liam take a break during history. Then, everything falls apart a little, but Theo won't let that happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait! This chapter took much longer to write than I thought, or planned. But you know: I'm also getting busy with school again, so that's probably why.
> 
> I focused a bit more on history this chapter, but I'm not always great at that myself, so forgive me if I get anything wrong. Also, I've tried to do some research to how the school system works in America, but it's kind of complicated, so I just picked a history subject that I find interesting myself :) Enjoy!

Liam noticed the little things first. He noticed the way Theo sometimes nodded and almost smiled at him in the hallway at school, or how he threw the ball in Liam's direction more often during lacrosse practice. He also noticed how Theo paid more attention during their history homework together, and how he asked questions more actively. It made him feel more excited about their homework too, happy that he could explain his favorite subject to Theo as the older boy was starting to get genuinely interested in it.  


They were currently working on the Industrial Revolution, something Liam liked and did a bit more research on, looking up some more details, so that he could explain it to Theo better. It was a bit more work, but Liam didn't mind, because it was all so, so interesting.  


‘I can't believe you're putting so much work into this,’ Mason chuckled.  


‘Don't worry, I don't mind,’ Liam said. ‘It's actually quite fun to do.’  


‘I didn't mean it as a bad thing,’ Mason replied. ‘It's clearly working well for you, so there's not really a reason to stop.’  


Liam smiled in relief, glad that Mason felt that way. Up until now he'd been a little afraid that Liam was working too hard, putting too much pressure on himself, but now that he saw that it was working, he wasn't so worried anymore. In all honesty, Liam likely wouldn't have stopped helping Theo with his homework even if it did get a little difficult, but he was glad Mason, Corey and Hayden saw everything a little bit more positive now too.  


‘I agree,’ Hayden said with a smile, referring to Mason's comment. ‘If you still manage to get your own school work done, and get good grades yourself, why would you stop? I think it's really nice.’  


Liam smiled, looking around his little friend group, happy that they felt that way. Hayden sat across from him, eating her lunch while texting a friend. Mason and Corey were quietly, but playfully, bickering over a little doodle of a mouse with the head of a cat that Mason had apparently drawn in Corey's notebook, and the meaning of the word 'Morey', that Mason was now explaining to Corey and was apparently a combination of their names together. Liam giggled, happy that he had met such nice, supportive people, who approved of him helping Theo with his homework. Liam likely wouldn't have stopped even if they didn't think it was a good idea, but the fact that they did, made it so much better for him.  


That was how he was sitting next to Theo in his living room again on Saturday. Their books were open on the table in front of them, and Liam tried to keep the other boy focused, to make sure he kept paying attention, but Theo's thoughts seemed to keep drifting off.  


‘Theo, come on,’ Liam tried again. ‘Which industry was first affected by the Industrial Revolution?’  


‘Eh...’ Theo stayed silent, rubbing his temples. Liam remained silent for a moment, waiting to see if the other boy would still come up with the answer, but when he didn't, Liam nodded. ‘Okay. How about this then: how was the middle class affected by the Industrial Revolution?’  


When the other boy stayed silent again, Liam sighed and flicked through the book. ‘Did you even read it?’  


Theo's head snapped up. ‘Yes, Dunbar!’ he snapped. ‘I read it, okay!? It just didn't fucking interest me!’  


Liam stared up at him, his mouth half open, startled by the other boy's sudden outburst. A feeling of anger washed over him and he opened his mouth, ready to make a nasty comment in return, but it was then that he noticed how exhausted Theo looked all of a sudden. He seemed paler than usual, had heavy bags under his eyes, and his eyes seemed dull and tired. Liam sighed in sympathy and pushed the books away from them.  


‘Come on,’ he said, standing up. ‘I'm gonna make you some coffee.’  


‘What?’ Theo stared up at him. ‘But... We're not done yet.’  


Liam smiled. ‘Sometimes it's important to remember to take a break too,’ he said. Besides, somehow, he didn't think that they were gonna get a lot of work done if Theo was like this.  


The look of surprise was still visible on Theo’s face, but then he nodded, standing up and following Liam to the kitchen. There, Liam took two mugs out of the kitchen cupboard and made the coffee, sitting across from Theo as he waited for it to finish.  


‘So,’ he said. ‘Is everything going alright at school, besides history?’  


Theo nodded. ‘I think so,’ he said. ‘I mean, I'm not struggling with my grades that much, so that's gonna mean something, right?’  


Liam chuckled, even though it wasn't exactly what he meant. ‘Yeah, sure,’ he smiled, before looking up. ‘And you?’ he asked then, with a more serious look on his face. ‘Are you alright?’  


‘Eh...’ Theo looked taken aback, unsure of how to answer that question. ‘I'm... It's alright,’ he said insecure.  


‘Okay,’ Liam said gently. ‘Because you seem a little distracted today.’  


‘Eh...’ Theo mumbled, fumbling with his hands. ‘I, eh, didn't sleep well, is all.’  


Liam nodded in understanding, and Theo looked up. ‘But... I'm sorry about lashing out at you just now,’ he mumbled.  


The apology didn't seem easy for him to say, and it took Liam by surprise. He thought it was the first time the other boy had apologized to him, for anything, but he nodded, not making a big deal out of it.  


‘Don't worry about it,’ he smiled, getting up to finish the coffee for the both of them. ‘Just... If you ever feel tired or something, let me know, and we can take a break from history.’  


He made sure to not tell Theo that he had to talk about it, not wanting to pressure the other boy for anything he wasn't ready for.  


Theo seemed surprised by the statement, but nodded anyway, taking the steaming cup of coffee from Liam and warming his hands. Liam sat down across from him again.  


Theo really did look tired, a little pale, big bags under his eyes, and Liam wondered if he was actually alright like he said he was. He knew that Theo still had trouble letting his guard down, and all Liam could do was making him feel like it was safe for him to do so.  


‘So what are you gonna do this weekend?’ he asked, to start their conversation.  


Theo shrugged, taking a sip from his coffee. ‘Not much, probably,’ he mumbled. ‘Homework.’  


Liam nodded. ‘My cousin's birthday is tomorrow,’ he told Theo. ‘So me and my parents are going to visit them then.’  


‘How old is he?’ Theo asked.  


‘She,’ Liam corrected him. ‘And she's turning two.’ He smiled at the easy conversation they were having.  


‘I have a little cousin too,’ Theo said, seemingly more relaxed now that they weren't talking about how he felt anymore. ‘He's the son of my mom's sister, and just turned three like two weeks ago.’  


‘Cute,’ Liam chuckled, taking another sip from his coffee. ‘Do you see them a lot? Your family, I mean?’  


‘Uh, a normal amount, I think,’ Theo said, making Liam chuckle again. He didn't really think they would talk like this, but now that they did, he liked it. The rest of their conversation came easy, and they talked about family and hobbies, and as Liam hang on every word he said, he found out that Theo liked swimming, and that his mom had made Theo take singing classes when he was younger. He'd hated everything about it.  


When they'd both finished their coffee, they made their way to the living room again, with the full intention of continuing their history homework again. Liam paused, though, when he heard Theo's voice behind him.  


‘You have Mario Kart?’  


Liam turned around, seeing Theo standing by the bookcase in the living room. He sounded a little unsure, despite their easy conversation from earlier, looking at Liam expectantly.  


Liam nodded, an idea forming in his mind. ‘Do you wanna play it?’ he asked.  


‘Are we not supposed to continue history?’ Theo asked with raised eyebrows.  


‘Hmm,’ Liam replied, as he got the game out of the bookcase. ‘Consider this still part of the break.’  


Theo nodded, his eyes suddenly brighter than a few minutes ago, and Liam knew that he had made the right decision.  


He started the game up, and when he had, he fell down on the sofa next to Theo with his controller in his hands.  


‘I have to warn you,’ he said, ‘That I'm crazy good at this. I played this with Mason and Corey the other day, and I just kept winning.’  


‘Hmm, I'm pretty good at it too,’ Theo mumbled, moving around on the couch until he had gotten comfortable.  


‘Okay then, you can choose. Which one are we gonna do?’ Liam asked.  


Theo looked up at that, looking at Liam, and apparently they both thought the same thing, because Theo said: ‘Rainbow Road.’  


And Liam smirked, and clicked on it. ‘Rainbow Road it is.’

***** 

As it turned out, Theo was super competitive, although Liam wasn't sure why he hadn't expected as much. After all, it was the same with him on the lacrosse field.  


‘Did you just push me of the road again!?’ Liam screamed, as his screen went black.  


‘It's not my fault you keep driving so close to the edge!’ Theo snapped in return. ‘You said you were good at this!’  


‘I am!’ Liam screeched, although he couldn't keep the grin from appearing on his face.  


They'd been competitive about this, both of them switching between first and second place, as they managed to catch up with the other again. Theo had pushed Liam off the edge quite a few times already, making his screen go black, but Liam had done the same to Theo. But they had fun. Besides, he didn't really mind, not when he could see the change in Theo's demeanor every time he looked at him.  


Theo sat on the couch comfortably, with his back pressed against the cushions and his eyes bright, and he looked completely relaxed despite the concentrated frown on his face. It was different than the frown he usually had on, as this one was completely directed at the game, and he looked calm like he had forgotten about his troubles for just a moment.  


The sight of it was enough to make Liam's heart beat just a little bit faster.  


Unfortunately, though, he had gotten distracted because of that long enough for Theo to throw him off the road again. Liam groaned in defeat.  


‘Not again!’ he exclaimed, throwing his controller on the couch.  


‘I win!"’ Theo yelled, pointing at Liam in a silent 'I told you so', to rub it in his face.  


And then he smiled.  


Liam wasn't quite sure what to expect of it, as it was the first time since they'd known each other that Theo had done that, but it wasn't this.  


The entire room seemed to light up, Theo's green eyes even brighter than before. Liam could feel his cheeks heating up, the room a little hotter than it was before, and he would do anything if it meant Theo would never stop smiling like that.  


‘Yeah,’ he said, his mouth a little dry. ‘You won.’  


Theo nodded, unaware of the way Liam's heart was racing, and he held up the controller.  


‘Do you wanna go again?’  


Liam wanted to. He really wanted to. He never thought Theo would become so relaxed around him so quickly, and he wanted to enjoy it a little bit longer while he still could.  


Quickly, he glanced towards their history homework on the table, before deciding that it wasn't worth it, and that they could always continue that later.  


‘Of course,’ he smiled, and Theo pressed play on the game again.  


They played for the most part of the afternoon, and when Jenna came home, she found them still on the couch like where they'd been when they started, their history books lying forgotten on the table.  


‘Is this what homework looks like now?’ she chuckled, putting her grocery bag down.  


‘We took a break,’ Liam replied. ‘We were going to continue, but this was more fun.’  


Jenna smiled. ‘Well, that's important too,’ she said.  


‘We... kinda lost track of time though,’ Liam said then, looking at the clock.  


‘Time flies when you're having fun,’ Jenna replied, walking to the kitchen. ‘Do you want anything to drink?’  
Liam nodded, but when she'd disappeared into the kitchen, Theo opened his mouth. ‘I should go,’ he said.  


‘Are you sure?’ Liam asked. Theo seemed to have gone back to his less carefree demeanor, and Liam would lie if he said that it didn't disappoint him a little bit. He definitely wanted to see Theo like that again.  


‘Yeah,’ Theo said, standing up. He walked over to the table, where he put his books back in his bag, and walked to the door. Liam followed after him.  


‘Are you leaving already?’ Jenna's voice sounded from behind them then.  


‘Yeah, I... I should go,’ Theo said quietly.  


Liam nodded to his mom and Jenna smiled, leaving the two boys alone for a moment. Theo swung his bag over his shoulder and looked at Liam.  


‘I'll, eh, see you next week,’ he said, although it was a little different than usual, and Liam could hear other things as well. He could hear all the silent, unspoken words that Theo didn't really know how to say, as Theo thanked him for helping him out with history and let him know that he'd had fun this afternoon.  


‘Yeah, next week,’ Liam said with a smile, making sure it covered all of his own words that he didn't really know how to say, but still wanted Theo to know. He let him know that he was looking forward to it, that he was glad to help him out, and that he'd had fun too.  


Theo nodded as he understood, and stepped outside. ‘Bye, see you then,’ he said.  


Liam nodded. ‘Bye,’ he responded, smiling. Then, he closed the door.

***** 

The next week, they decided to switch things up and do history homework at Theo's house. Liam was a bit nervous for it, as the last time he'd visited Theo's house, Mary had cried right there in front of him, and he hadn't had the slightest idea of what to do. He also remembered, though, how nice Mary had been, and so, a little nervously, he pressed the doorbell.  


Theo opened the door. He was dressed in a simple denim jacket and black jeans, but Liam could feel his breath catch in his throat at the sight of it.  


Over the course of the past week, Liam had noticed some change in his feelings for Theo. They seemed to have gotten stronger, especially now that he'd seen a different side of Theo at his house the week before. Every room just seemed brighter if Theo was there, and Liam couldn't wait until it was Friday or Saturday again for lacrosse practice and history homework, had almost felt restless doing so. Thankfully he'd gotten a little break from waiting on Wednesday, when he and Theo had decided to eat lunch together, and they'd worked on their friendship a little bit more. Liam realized that they had slowly started to feel more comfortable around each other.  


Something about Theo had been different too. He'd seemed less angry, calmer, and a little friendlier and more patient towards those around him. And though he still looked tired, even now, his eyes were a little brighter and not all dull anymore like Liam had seen they'd been before. And it only proved to make him like Theo even more.  


‘Hi,’ Theo said, holding the door open for Liam and stepping aside to let him in.  


‘Hi,’ Liam replied with a smile, stepping over the doorstep inside the house.  


He was only here for the second time, but due to the many photo’s and knick-knacks and the large windows that let a lot of light in, the house had a very welcoming feel to it. Liam felt welcome here anyway.  


Theo lead him to the living room, where Mary was sitting at the table with a cup of tea and a newspaper. As soon as she saw Liam, though, she got up and gave him a wide, genuine smile.  


‘Hi, Liam," she said in a friendly voice. ‘It's nice to see you again.’  


‘You too, Mrs. Raeken,’ Liam said.  


‘Mary,’ she corrected him, before looking from him to Theo. ‘Are you guys studying here today? Do you want something to drink? I can make some tea if you want...’  


‘Okay, mom!’ Theo interrupted her then. ‘We're just going upstairs if you don't mind.’  


Liam stood by awkwardly, watching and wondering why Theo felt the need to snap at his mother like that again. Was there something that happened between them that he didn't know about maybe?  


Then, though, Theo's comment got through to him, and Liam frowned. ‘What? Why can't we just do homework here?’  


‘Yeah, wouldn't that be just as easy?’ Mary started, but Theo had already grabbed Liam's wrist and pulled him to the door. ‘We're going upstairs.’  


Liam waited until he'd closed the door and they were alone again before he asked: ‘Why did you do that? Why did you snap at your mother like that?’  


‘It's none of your business,’ Theo said coldly.  


Liam sighed and rolled his eyes. Theo always seemed to do this, these mood swings. One moment he was cold, and the next he wasn't. Liam did know, though, that it depended on the subject whether Theo was in a bad mood or not. Usually they just talked and it was nice and Theo did something that resembled his sunshine smile that Liam liked so much, but there were still days where Theo was generally grumpy, and there were still subjects Liam had to avoid to keep things nice.  


He knew he couldn't avoid them forever though.  


He let it slide for now though, following Theo up to his room, which was not what he expected at all. All the walls were painted blue, with Theo's desk on one side of the room, a black desk chair standing next to it, and his bed on the other. Above the desk there was a pin board with a few pictures on it, the biggest one being a printed picture of the Great Wall of China. And on the other wall, next to Theo's bed, there was a big map of the world with a few drawing pins pushed into it here and there.  


‘Wow,’ Liam breathed.  


‘It's not much, but, this is my room,’ Theo said while closing the door, and he wasn't frowning anymore and his eyes were bright and Liam most certainly took that as a good sign.  


‘I like it,’ he smiled.  


They took place behind Theo's desk, and Liam waited until Theo had gotten his books out of his bag before they started. Liam helped him with the Industrial Revolution some more, explained it to him a little more, but he couldn't ignore how close they were sitting. Every now and then their legs would brush against each other and they couldn't write something down without their arms hitting against each other, and Liam had started to get really warm. He shifted around, trying to get away from Theo a little, but the desk was small and they're wasn't really a lot of space, and Liam wasn't sure how much longer he could do this.  


‘Could you quit moving around!?’ Theo snapped then. ‘It's really annoying!’  


‘Sorry,’ Liam apologized, his cheeks heating up. ‘It's just...’  


He looked up, turning towards the desk, and when he did so, he saw how close his and Theo's faces were all of a sudden. He suddenly felt breathless, seeing Theo's green eyes from upclose, and seeing how beautiful they actually were.  
‘Just what?’ Theo asked. He had his eyebrows raised, but a genuine expression on his face, and he sounded a lot more gentle than a moment ago.  


‘Just... Nothing,’ Liam mumbled, his heart pounding in his chest. He had forgotten what he wanted to say, and his mind was working much too fast to think of something anyway. He couldn't think straight. But then Theo leaned in a little closer, a serious look on his face, and holy shit, Liam wasn't sure if this was really happening.  


He followed Theo's lead, leaning in as well and closing his eyes, completely ready for this kiss.  


It didn't come.  


Liam opened his eyes again, shocked, and saw that Theo had leaned back again with a pained expression on his face.  


‘I... I'm sorry, I...’  


Can't do this, Liam finished Theo's sentence in his thoughts. He had to blink back tears that he could feel were coming up, and nodded. ‘Of course,’ he said with a wobbly voice, and fuck, was that really him, because it didn't sound like him. He tried again.  


‘Of course!’ he exclaimed. ‘You have a girlfriend, and I don't know what I was thinking, but I shouldn't have done that! I was out of line.’  


‘Dunbar...’ Theo started quietly, but Liam turned back to the desk, looking down, and cut him off. ‘Can we please just continue history now?’  


Theo paused for a moment, but sounded taken aback when he did answer. ‘Yeah,’ he said, sounding a bit strange. ‘Yeah, for sure! Let's continue.’  


The rest of their history homework, Liam didn't look up again, refusing to look anywhere but the books, and only looked up again once the better half of an hour had passed, and Theo had quietly asked if they could have a break again.  


‘Dunbar...’ he started slowly, quietly. ‘I'm sorry. I was out of line, not you, and I shouldn't have initiated something that I wasn't gonna finish.’  


Liam remained silent, and Theo fumbled with his hands. ‘But... Do you think that maybe, you could not be mad anymore?’  


Liam paused, putting his pen down and looking up. He wasn't mad, he knew. He was just hurt, and embarrassed, but seeing the other boy so shy and nervous and truly regretful, which was nothing like him, was enough to make those feelings slowly fade away.  


‘Yeah,’ he said, smiling reassuringly. ‘I think I could.’  


A relieved look appeared on Theo's face, and he nodded. ‘Okay, good,’ he said. ‘Because... You're the most fun to beat in Mario Kart.’  


‘Hey!’ Liam yelled immediately, offended. ‘I am actually good at that, I just had an off-day.’  


Theo gave him a small smile, and even though it wasn't as big as Liam had seen before, it still showed some of the familiar sunshine that Liam was used to. He smiled back, and he could feel the tension that was still between them flowing away until only a nicer atmosphere in the room remained.  


Liam looked around, at the world map against the wall, and nodded towards it.  


‘I really like your world map,’ he said. ‘It's awesome.’  


‘Hmm, yeah,’ Theo said. ‘I've had for as long as I can remember now. I guess I never thought about changing it.’  


‘Well, you shouldn't,’ Liam said honestly, as he stood up and walked over to the bed to get a better look at it. That was when he saw the drawing pins which were mostly pinned down in and around China. Liam smiled, looking back at Theo. ‘You like China, then?’ he asked.  


‘What?’ Theo looked up, and Liam pointed to the map. ‘Are those not the places you still want to visit?’  


‘Oh, yeah,’ Theo mumbled. ‘They are.’  


‘Cool,’ Liam chuckled. ‘Were you planning to go there after school?’  


‘No, I...’ Theo sighed, looking down with a tired frown on his face. ‘Me and Tara were planning to go together, actually.’  


Liam could feel his stomach drop and he fell back down on the bed, staring at Theo with a shocked look on his face. The tension in the room had grown again and Liam stayed silent for a moment before he got his thoughts together. ‘Oh. Oh, Theo, I'm sorry.’  


His mouth felt dry, and Theo let out a hollow chuckle, sounding bitter when he said: ‘You didn't know.’  


‘No, but...’ Liam stood up, sitting down next to Theo again, and deliberately a little closer this time in hopes that it would comfort him a little bit. ‘I was being nosy again, wasn't I?’  


‘You didn't know,’ Theo mumbled again, staring down at his lap and fumbling with his hands.  


Liam hated that he'd done this. It was just going a little better again, and then he had to go and talk about the wrong subject again. He wanted to reach out and put his hands on top of Theo's, but he didn't dare to after their awkward... encounter, from earlier. So instead, he just shuffled a little closer to the older boy, hoping that his presence would be enough to comfort him a little bit.  


He did notice, though, that Theo got a little less angry when they reached a difficult subject, and got a little more shy and quiet. Like he was less scared to show Liam how he really felt about it, and be a little more vulnerable. Liam hoped that that meant that Theo trusted him a little bit more too.  


They sat in silence for a little bit after that, a comfortable silence where Theo eventually looked at Liam with a calmer look in his green eyes, and let him know that he did feel calmer. Liam smiled.  


Then, Mary's voice came from downstairs. ‘Theo, Liam! I made tea for you if you want!’  


Immediately, Theo groaned. ‘Not again!’  


Liam looked up, raising an eyebrow, and Theo sighed. ‘She always does this. Like, she said she wants to connect with me or something.’  


Liam ignored the bitter tone in Theo's voice despite the fact that it left him feeling quite annoyed, and he stood up, pulling Theo up as well.  


‘Come on!’ he said chipper. ‘No one has ever died from a simple cup of tea.’  


‘Yeah, well, maybe I'm the first,’ Theo scowled, but his green eyes were sparkling, and surely that had to be some sort of accomplishment, right?  


Liam rolled his eyes. ‘You're such a drama queen,’ he chuckled, because despite the fact that he still wasn't impressed with Theo's constant complaining, he was also happy that things were good between them again. He walked out of the room, with Theo following after him.  


Together, they walked down the stairs, Liam first, and they walked into the living room. Mary was sitting one of the sofa's, with a tray with tea and cookies on the table in front of her, and Liam could tell that she really did her best to make it look nice.  


That was why he didn't really understand why Theo seemed to be so bitter towards her. His mom really cared about him, and he didn't even see it.  


The whole thing left a hurt feeling in Liam's chest.  


He and Theo took place on the sofa next to each other, across from Mary as she poured the tea for them.  


‘How is history going?’ she asked.  


‘Good, I think!’ Liam responded, at the same time that Theo growled: ‘It's fine, mom.’  


Mary seemed to waver for a second upon hearing Theo's answer, but then she looked up with a somewhat forced smile on her face.  


‘That's good to hear,’ she said, sounding more chipper than she looked, and handed them their tea. ‘How is the rest of your subjects going?’  


‘They're fine, mom, like I said, alright?’ Theo said annoyed. ‘They're getting better.’  


Liam hid behind his tea, feeling the awkwardness in the room settle in, and feeling like it was better that he kept out of it for now. This was obviously something between Theo and his mom.  


‘That's good to hear,’ Mary smiled. ‘And lacrosse? You're both on the team, right? How is the practice going?’  


‘Mom, I told you, it's fine," Theo said, annoyed. ‘Everything's fine, stop worrying.’  


Mary stayed silent, trying to keep the smile on her face even if it wavered a little, and Liam stared down at his cup of tea. The silence in the room had grown more tense, and Liam didn't really know what to do, didn't like the heavy feeling that came with it, and then Mary took a deep breath.  


‘That's... That's good to hear,’ she said again, although she sounded a lot less upbeat than a moment ago, and the hurt feeling in Liam's chest was back.  


Then, the annoyed look that Theo sent her way had Mary frowning, a hurt look on her face, and suddenly Liam knew he couldn't stay here anymore.  


‘You know what?’ he said. ‘I, eh, should probably get home. I, eh, still have some homework of my own that I need to do.’  


It didn't sound very convincing, Liam was aware of that as he stood up and put his cup of tea down, but Mary nodded anyway.  


He nodded back weakly, before he started out of the living room, and to the hallway. A feeling of regret had washed over him, as he hadn't wanted the afternoon to go like this for any of them, but it had, and it left a bad feeling in his stomach.  


With a sigh, he pulled the front door open, when he suddenly heard Theo's voice behind him.  


‘Dunbar, wait! Where are you going?’  


Liam turned around, an apologetic look on his face, and saw the pained expression on Theo's face as the older boy anxiously waited for him to say something.  


‘It's hard to know you, Theo,’ Liam said, and even that was hard to say because he knew that it wasn't what Theo was hoping for. But it had to be done. ‘One moment, you're all cool and we're laughing and it's fine, and the next, you're... Not.’  


Theo had his jaw clenched, but he didn't say anything.  


‘I'm sorry,’ Liam said quietly, as he moved to step outside. ‘But I think that I... Need some time alone.’  


He realized it sounded dramatic, but it was true. Spending time with Theo was confusing and Liam needed to think about it for a bit, and maybe Mason was right, and should he focus on school a little bit more. He'd been so preoccupied with Theo that he barely paid attention to that.  


‘But...’ Theo started, sounding upset. ‘What about history?’  


‘I'll help you,’ Liam replied honestly. ‘But maybe we should...’ He paused, searching for the right words to say. ‘Keep it at that for now.’  


Theo stayed silent, and Liam gave him a weak nod. Then he stepped outside, making a move to close the door.  


‘Dunbar...’ he still heard Theo say before he closed the door, in a last attempt to make him stay, but then he really did close the door and walked down the path that lead to the front door, to the street.  


Liam sighed, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked down the street. He could feel a frown forming on his face as he thought about what had just happened, and what he had walked out on. Part of him wanted to go back and make things right, but he refrained himself from doing so. Instead, he kept walking, even though it was hard. Hard because the last thing he'd seen before he closed the door, the image he couldn't get out of his mind now no matter how hard he tried, was the shocked look on Theo's face.

***** 

The rest of the weekend went by in kind of a blur for Liam. He did some of his homework, but he didn't know how well it went, as he barely managed to keep his attention to it. He also tried to play some Mario Kart, but it just wasn't as much fun on his own, and he couldn't stop thinking about how he had played Mario Kart with Theo.  


On Monday, Liam felt mostly numb. He missed Theo, he knew, and even though Mason kept saying that he was better off without him, Liam didn't feel like it. Mason would just say anything to cheer him up anyway, whether he really meant it or not, and it didn't work.  


Everything felt grey, and tasteless, and Liam went through the day without really picking anything up. He might as well not have been there.  


Tuesday wasn't much different. Liam was caught up in his own thoughts, barely noticing when his friends spoke to him, and they regretted that they ever said that Liam helping Theo out was a good idea. Liam also had trouble paying attention in class and noticing when teachers talked to him, much to the teachers' annoyance.  


On Wednesday, Liam heard that Theo and Tracy had broken up, which confused him to no end. Did Theo like to confuse him with those mixed signals? He avoided the older boy, which wasn't honestly all that hard when he stayed close to his friends and went from one class to another, and when Theo didn't even try to seek him out. Liam told himself that it didn't hurt.  


Only Scott had wanted to know if he was okay, and Liam had found himself unable to lie to him. He was just too damn compassionate.  


On Thursday, something surprising happened. Liam had been feeling a bit far off from the world, like the days before, and had spent most classes in the back caught up in his own thoughts.  


‘I'm worried about you, man,’ Mason said. ‘You shouldn't let a guy you've only known for a little while make you feel this down.’  


Liam didn't agree. He thought he had known Theo well and truly long enough to warrant this kind of reaction, especially when he'd slowly come to know slight bits and pieces of the older boy over the past few weeks, and when Theo had slowly started to trust him enough to let him know about those in the first place.  


It happened at night. Liam was sitting in the living room in the evening, hanging around in front of the TV, when suddenly, the doorbell rang.  


It surprised Liam. Usually around this time of night there wouldn't be anyone anymore who wanted something like charity from you, even if it wasn't all that late yet, and Liam was pretty sure his parents weren't expecting anyone either.  


He stood up to answer the door and walked to the hallway, but when he did, he was suddenly hit by a strange feeling of hope.  


Slowly, he opened the door, and didn't expect it to be actually Theo who was standing on the other side.  


He looked disheveled, with messy hair, and wearing just a simple pair of grey sweatpants and a pink hoodie that was slightly too big.  


He still looked good in it though, Liam noted.  


Theo looked up at him with an unsure look in his eyes, a small, tired smile on his face, and Liam could feel his heart pounding in his chest.  


‘Hi,’ Theo said then. ‘Can we talk?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I finished this! That took me long to write. But I hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo tells Liam about what happened, and it's more than Liam expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone ready for the big reveal!? Because this is where it happens and all the puzzle pieces (hopefully) fall together.
> 
> I've thought about whether I should do it this way, if it's not too much, but it's in my head like this since the beginning, so here we go. I hope I didn't make it too heavy.

Liam was surprised to find Theo standing on his doorstep. After all that happened, he hadn't expected the older boy to come and reach out to him. Yet here he was, looking unsure and strangely small in the pink hoodie he was wearing.  


‘Hi,’ Theo said then softly, fumbling with his sleeves. ‘Can we talk?’  


He had a serious look on his face, oddly nervous and almost scared, yet with a hopeful undertone.  


Liam hesitated, remembering their last conversation where he said that it was hard to know him, when he wasn't sure if he was ready to face Theo so soon again. Still, he wanted to know what Theo wanted to talk about, and what warranted such a look on his face.  


Liam nodded, holding the door open a little further and stepping aside to let Theo in. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Come on in.’  


Theo nodded, nervously, and let out a breath as he stepped over the doorstep. Liam wasn't really sure what it was that made the other boy act so nervous, like he was scared to do something wrong and the smallest thing would tick Liam off, but he didn't really like it. It was nothing like the interactions they'd had so far.  


Silently, Liam lead Theo to the living room, where he sat down on the couch. Theo hesitated.  


‘You can sit, too, you know,’ Liam chuckled softly, trying to ... make some of the tension disappear.  


Theo nodded quickly, mumbling something that sounded like 'yeah', and sat down on the couch next to him, but keeping a little distance between them. Liam frowned. He didn't know what was going on with the other boy that he acted like this, but if fighting with him did this to him, Liam vowed to keep that to a minimum from now on.  


‘Why are you here, Theo?’ he asked then, softly. ‘What did you want to talk about?’  


‘Right. Eh...’ Theo sighed, pausing and leaning forward, rubbing his hands together. ‘Okay, so...’  


He took a deep breath before continuing. ‘I haven't really... Talked with anyone about this in a quite a while, and not really anyone knows besides my parents, but I, eh, wanted to tell you what happened.’  


He didn't need to clarify for Liam to know what he was talking about, and even though it made him feel warm in his chest that Theo trusted him with this when he hadn't really trusted anyone else with it, he managed to get the words of reassurance out quickly and quietly: ‘Theo, you don't have to...’  


‘I know,’ Theo interrupted him. ‘But... I want to.’  


Liam nodded softly. "Okay." He didn't want Theo to talk about anything he wasn't comfortable with, like his sister's car accident, especially because he felt like Liam was pressuring him. That just made him feel shitty, and he would never do something like that to Theo. But it seemed like Theo was here because he wanted to, and Liam would listen to him.  


‘Okay, so you know my sister, Tara, died in a car accident last year,’ Theo started from the beginning, with a shaky voice, and shaky hands. His nervousness was rolling off of him in waves, and Liam could tell how terrified he was. He shifted on the couch, moving a little closer to Theo in hopes of comforting him, and tried to look at him with as much understanding and sympathy as he could manage.  


‘Tara was... My best friend, I think,’ Theo continued shakily, refusing to meet Liam's eyes. ‘We did almost everything together, and we rarely fought. The time we went to go shopping was no different.’  


He looked up, and Liam wasn't surprised to find tears glistening in his eyes. It made his chest constrict painfully.  


‘Mom made us go. We were bored and she needed some things, so we went to the store. We didn't have a list because usually, we could remember everything, and in the store, we got the things we needed for mom. On the way back, we...’  


Theo let out a breath, taking a deep breath again before continuing. ‘She thought we had forgotten something, while I thought that we had everything. We bickered about it, but it was alright when I turned the radio on.’  


Theo breathed in and out again, shakily, and Liam moved his hands so that his and Theo’s were pressed together.  


‘We disagreed on the music, though, and whether or not we'd forgotten something, and we argued. We rarely fought, but we did then, completely at the wrong time.’  


Silent tears rolled down Theo's cheeks and Liam's mouth was dry, feeling sick to his stomach as he thought about where this was headed. His stomach churned.  


‘I didn't see the other car, at first,’ Theo whispered. ‘And when I did, it was already too late. I could still swerve, dive out of the way, but it was no use. We...’ he swallowed, breathing shakily. ‘We crashed. There was a tree, next to the road.’  


Liam moved his hand, placing it on top of Theo's and squeezing gently, and noticing that he was shaking himself.  


And how could he not shake?  


It was like someone had stuffed a cloud inside his head, and he couldn't think straight.  


‘Tara's side... Tara's side hit it the wrong way, I think,’ Theo sniffled. ‘I don't know. I hit my head, I blacked out. They took us to the hospital, but she... She'd died on the spot.’  


Liam couldn't take it anymore. He remained silent, not knowing what to say, and his heart was breaking at the sound of Theo's sobs that filled the quiet room. He moved closer to Theo, pulling him into a hug that Theo returned tightly, pressing his face against Liam's shoulder and crying against him.  


Liam felt sick, as he wrapped his arms around Theo and just held him tighter. Out of all the things that could have happened with the accident, this was one thing he never expected.  


He remained silent, sitting still with his arms around Theo until the sobs had started to fade.  


Theo sniffled, slowly leaning back and freeing himself out of Liam's arms, looking at him with red eyes. He rubbed his eyes. ‘I'm sorry,’ he sniffled.  


Liam opened his mouth, trying to speak, but found that he couldn't because of the lump in his throat.  


‘You don't have to apologize,’ he managed eventually, quietly. Too shocked to say much else.  


Theo looked up at him.  


‘I...’ He took a deep breath, starting again. ‘When you left my place, a few days ago saying that it was hard to know me, that hurt.’  


‘I...’ Liam started to apologize, but Theo held up his hand, stopping him.  


‘You don't have to apologize,’ he said. ‘Because it made me think, about what things must've looked like from your perspective, and of course that's confusing. So I want to explain. Because...’ He breathed in and out deeply, before he started again, staring down at his lap with fresh tears in his eyes.  


‘Because do you know what it's like to look at your mother, and know that she wants to talk to you about it, that she wants an explanation, but you just can't, and...’  


He was interrupted by a sob before he continued again, and Liam's heart hurt.  


‘I just can't because she looks too much like Tara, and I just can't talk about it because it hurts too much, and... And that look of sympathy in her eyes, saying that she's there for me, only makes it worse, because I know that she deserves something, but I don't know what to do or say...’  


His talking sounded distorted now, interrupted by his constant sobbing and the way he had his face in his hands, and Liam sat completely still, shaking heavily with tears burning in his eyes and making his vision blurry.  


‘Because it just hurts so much, knowing that my... My sister died because of me.’  


Theo had trouble catching his breath because he was crying so much, and so Liam had trouble hearing what he was saying, but when the words had caught up with him, he shook his head, tears of his own rolling down his cheeks and his heart breaking inside his chest, making it hurt like hell.  


‘N-No, no,’ he managed to get out, shaking his head fiercely and wiping a tear from his face, before he moved closer to Theo and brushed his tears off his cheeks with his thumbs.  


‘Don't ever say that,’ he ordered, his heart breaking all over again as he thought back on what Theo had just said. He couldn't bear to know that Theo was living with that kind of guilt. ‘Don't you ever say that.’  


Theo looked away from him. ‘The dinners are even worse,’ he mumbled. ‘Because then my dad's there too, with the same look of sympathy in his eyes, and I just don't know what to say to them. Because I'm... I'm here, and Tara's not... And I...’  


He couldn't get the words over his lips anymore as the sobs got in the way, and Liam wrapped his arms around, pulling him closer. He sat still, silently crying and trying not to make a sound and upset Theo even more, as he could already feel his sweater getting wet from Theo's tears.  


‘And so I snapped at them... I'm sorry,’ Theo mumbled, his voice sounding muffled as his face was still pressed against Liam's shoulder. Liam felt sick as he remembered telling Theo that he shouldn't do that, and hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to work out everything that Theo had just told him.  


He felt overwhelmed thinking of it all. Theo... had been driving the car when the accident happened.  


He couldn't imagine what Theo must feel like, couldn't even begin to understand, but he did understand his reaction to his parents.  


‘Sssh,’ Liam whispered, angry at himself for saying something to Theo about his reaction to his parents, and holding him closer. ‘It's okay. Just let it out, it's not healthy to keep it all inside. I'm here.’  


He could feel Theo's fingers digging in his back, holding onto him tightly as he did just what Liam said. Liam's heart hurt when he listened to Theo's sobs, and he buried his face in Theo's shoulder. He imagined that Theo had never really talked about this with anyone, and doing that forced him to relive everything, causing him to break down. Liam was relieved that Theo trusted him, but he wanted to show Theo that he was someone worthy of his trust, and right now, he didn't have the slightest idea of what do or say. He was clueless.  


When the sobs started to fade again and Theo pulled back slowly, he looked at Liam with red eyes.  


Liam swallowed. ‘Theo,’ he said quietly. ‘What... Is there anything I can do?’  


‘Just... Thank you for being here,’ Theo sniffled, staring ahead with tears still in his eyes.  


Liam nodded and they remained silent for a while, but there was still something Liam wanted to say. Slowly, he placed his hand on top of Theo's.  


‘Theo?’ he started, and Theo looked up. Liam took a deep breath. ‘I don't ever want to hear you say that it was because of you. Not again. It wasn't.’  


Theo nodded, although Liam knew he wasn't just gonna stop feeling like that. It took a lot more than this to make that happen.  


Theo sniffled then, looking at Liam. ‘I just... Didn't want to fuck this up,’ he mumbled. ‘Whatever this is. You've been helping me so much, with cleaning out my locker, and with my history, and taking me home after I got hurt at lacrosse practice, I didn't want to ruin it.’  


Liam let out a sob. ‘You didn't ruin it. If anything I feel like I'm the one who fucked up. I forced you to... Tell me this, didn't I?’  


‘No, no,’ Theo shook his head. ‘I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to tell you, I swear. Because you're right, I can't hold it in forever. It's just... I'm not like you, Dunbar. I can't just... You're always showing everyone exactly how you feel, but I can't do that.’  


Liam nodded, staring down at his lap. Theo did always seem to think through everything he said, carefully.  


Next to him, Theo sniffled. ‘I'm sorry,’ he mumbled. ‘I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you. But... You told me your story about Brett and your old school, and I wanted to tell you mine as well.’  


‘No,’ Liam said firmly, looking at him. ‘Don't even worry about that. I don't want you to worry about that. And... Don't compare my story to yours. They're both completely different things, that cannot be compared. I don't want you to do that.’  


Theo had enough on his plate already, he thought.  


Then they were interrupted by footsteps coming down the stairs, and his mom walked into the room.  


‘Liam, can you... Oh,’ she said as she saw Theo, clearly not expecting to see him. ‘Hi, Theo, what are you...’  


Then, she noticed that something was off. ‘Is everything alright?’  


‘Mom,’ Liam said shakily. ‘Can you make Theo some tea?’  


‘Of course,’ Jenna said, a little concerned, walking to the kitchen already. ‘Of course.’  


When she disappeared into the kitchen, Theo looked up at Liam. ‘Thank you,’ he said quietly, shakily.  


Liam just nodded, placing his hand on top of Theo's and squeezing gently.  


After both boys had finished their tea, Theo sniffled once more and stood up. ‘I... I'm sorry,’ he mumbled. ‘But I should probably go home.’  


Liam stood up too, staring after him. ‘Don't go,’ he said, and Theo turned around with a pained expression on his face.  


‘Don't go?’ he repeated.  


Liam sighed, crossing his arms. ‘Theo,’ he said, soft but firm, looking out of the window. ‘There's a rainstorm outside. And after...’ He thought back on their conversation. ‘There's no way I'm gonna let you drive anywhere.’  
Theo was in no shape to drive anywhere when he was this upset, Liam thought. Anything could happen, and the thought terrified him.  


‘So, what then?’ Theo asked quietly, still with the pained expression on his face. ‘I stay here?’  


Liam nodded, forcing himself to smile as softly as he could. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘You can stay here for the night.’  


Theo hesitated, but then he nodded, as if he actually had any say in the matter. Liam smiled softly, even if it still felt fake after everything, and after telling his mom that they were going upstairs, he took Theo by his hand and lead him up the stairs.  


They paused in the doorway of Liam's room, and Theo took a look around. ‘It's nice,’ he said quietly.  


‘Come on,’ Liam replied, leading him further into the room.  


He still felt the heavy sadness from earlier, the guilt from causing Theo to tell him even if he said that he hadn't done anything, and found himself wanting to do everything to make sure Theo was comfortable, no matter how small it was.  


He just wanted Theo to be safe.  


‘Come on,’ he said, while pulling some blankets and pillows out of the closet. ‘You can take my bed, I'll sleep on the floor or something.’  


‘Liam...’ Theo started, but Liam cut him off. ‘I don't mind.’  


Theo nodded, silently, and Liam made his makeshift bed on the floor next to his own bed. Theo took off his hoodie, leaving him only in a shirt, and he sat down on the bed. ‘I'm tired,’ he mumbled, causing Liam to smile at him sympathetically. He could imagine that.  


‘We'll go to sleep in a minute,’ he said softly.  


Theo nodded, waiting for Liam to change into his pajamas and looking away while he did so, remembering to text his mother to let her know where he was. Then he lay down on the bed, crawling under the covers as Liam lay down in his makeshift bed.  


Liam smiled at him softly, as best as he could manage after the direction the evening had gone into, and said: ‘Good night, Theo. Try to get some sleep.’  


Theo nodded softly, mumbling "good night" in return, and rolled over on his side as Liam turned off the light.  


In the dark, he could still hear Theo sniffling, crying softly, and his heart hurt as he lay still. Then, the sniffling stopped and turned into calm breathing, letting Liam know that Theo had fallen asleep. He closed his eyes, falling asleep himself then too.

***** 

Around midnight, Liam was woken up by soft, rapid mumbling, and to Theo who was tossing and turning in his bed.  


He blinked, yawning and rubbing his eyes before sitting up. ‘Theo?’ he asked quietly.  


Theo let out a whine, grabbing the covers tightly and rolling over, and Liam got a hurt feeling in his chest.  


Theo was having a nightmare.  


With a soft sigh, Liam pushed his blankets aside and got up, standing up and sitting down on the edge of the bed. ‘Theo?’ he whispered, shaking his shoulder to try and wake him up. ‘Theo?’  


‘No...’ Liam heard Theo mumbling. ‘No... Please...’  


He shook Theo's shoulder again. ‘Theo?’ he asked desperately. ‘Please wake up.’  


Theo startled awake, his eyes wide and panicked and directed at Liam. ‘Huh... What...?’ he started.  


‘Sssh,’ Liam whispered. ‘You were having a nightmare. But it's okay now.’  


Theo sat up, his breathing still heavy and fast. ‘Liam,’ he started. ‘It was horrible, I...’  


‘Sssh,’ Liam hushed him, simply wrapping his arms around him and holding him close. ‘You don't have to tell me.’  


‘Thank you,’ Theo whispered, leaning against him, his voice a bit muffled by where it was pressed against Liam's shoulder.  


Liam lay down again, next to Theo with his arms still wrapped around him, and Theo curled into his side. He let out a sigh, and Liam could feel his shirt getting a little wet again from Theo's tears. His heart broke a little, but he simply held Theo tighter, until the sniffling stopped.  


Liam closed his eyes, allowing Theo to curl up against him, until they were both comfortable.  


‘You called me Liam,’ he mumbled then, considerably closer to sleep now.  


‘Yeah... It sounds better than your last name,’ Theo mumbled back, sounding like he was almost asleep as well.  


A tiny smile appeared on Liam's face, and then he fell asleep.  


Neither of them woke up again for the rest of the night.

***** 

They woke up the next day in time for school, but Liam still had his doubts about going.  


Next to him, Theo yawned and sat up, moving to sit on the edge of the bed and stared out of the window. Liam leaned on his elbows, looking up at him.  


‘Do you want to go to school?’ he asked.  


Theo looked over his shoulder. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Yeah, we should go.’  


Liam nodded, and got up to. He rubbed his eyes before walking over to his closet, thinking that Theo was really brave for still wanting to go.  


He took a few plain shirts out of his closet, until he found one that he was sure Theo would fit.  


‘Here,’ he said, holding it out to him. ‘You can wear this today.’  


Theo nodded, still looking tired. ‘Thank you.’  


He pulled the shirt over his head, as Liam changed into normal clothes himself.  


‘Are you okay?’ he asked then. ‘I mean, are you sure you want to go to school?’  


Theo nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he said. "We can't just stay home.’  


Theo followed him down the stairs, his hoodie in his hands, to the living room where Jenna was already sitting at the table.  


‘Morning boys,’ she said when they came in. ‘Did you sleep well?’  


‘Yeah, fine,’ Liam said, sitting down at the table. Even though it wasn't completely true, things had been peaceful after Theo's nightmare.  


Theo said down next to him, following Liam's and making something to eat as well. ‘Thank you for letting me stay the night, Mrs. Geyer,’ he said quietly.  


Jenna smiled. ‘It was no trouble, Theo,’ she said. ‘And please, call me Jenna.’  


Theo nodded, a tiny smile on his face as he continued to eat his breakfast and made something for lunch.  


After they were both finished and stood up, Jenna asked: ‘Do you guys need a ride to school?’  


Liam thought that that sounded nice, but Theo shook his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘My, eh, car is still standing outside. We can go with that.’  


Jenna nodded. ‘Okay.’ And Theo and Liam walked to the hallway, outside, where they saw that it had already cleared up since last night's heavy rain fall.  


Liam followed Theo to the car, where they tossed their bags in the back, and Liam asked: ‘Should I drive?’  


Theo shook his head. ‘No, it's fine,’ he said. ‘I can.’  


Liam nodded. ‘Okay.’  


They got in the car, with Liam in the passenger's seat, and Theo started the car. They drove to school quietly, with Theo mainly focusing on the road and not looking at Theo, but Liam could understand that. Of course Theo would want to focus on the road.  


Liam looked at him. His perception of the older boy had changed since last night. Theo had told him everything, trusting him, and now, here he was. Just driving the car, after what happened.  


Liam suddenly thought that Theo was the bravest boy he knew.  


Quietly, they pulled over at the high school, and Theo stared out of the windshield.  


‘Are you okay?’ Liam asked quietly, suddenly not really knowing what else to say again. ‘Are you ready to get out there?’  


Theo let out a sigh looked over at him before staring down at his lap, and Liam saw the tears in his eyes. ‘Sometimes I don't know if I'll ever be okay again,’ he mumbled, sniffling.  


Liam felt something painful pushing on his chest, and he turned to Theo, taking his hands into his own. ‘You will be,’ he said, as honestly and sincerely as he could. ‘I promise.’  


Theo looked up at him, with eyes that were a little red. ‘Thank you, Liam,’ he said quietly, even though Liam wasn't sure if Theo actually believed him.  


He gave him a small smile. ‘I, eh, still wanted to thank you for telling me what happened last night,’ Liam said. ‘You didn't have to do that, and I can't imagine it could have been easy. I thought that was really brave.’  


Theo swallowed, with tears glistening in his eyes, as well as a look of gratitude, and he nodded. ‘You're right, it wasn't easy,’ he mumbled.  


Liam nodded understandingly. That was exactly why he thought it was brave.  


‘Oh,’ Theo sighed then, brushing through his eyes and wiping the tears away. ‘I'm sorry for crying so much.’  


‘You don't have to apologize for that,’ Liam replied quickly, sincerely.  


Theo nodded, giving Liam a small smile. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Or we're gonna be late.’  


Liam nodded, an admiring look in his eyes, because there he went again, being brave. Just steeling himself to go to school, as if he hadn't just cried.  


And Theo didn't even know how strong he really was.  


With a smile on his face, Liam followed after him, getting out of the car, and walked up to the school next to Theo. About halfway there, he stopped, and turned to Theo.  


‘You know,’ he said. ‘If you ever need something today, or want to talk about something, you can just text me.’  


Theo smiled. ‘Okay.’  


They started walking again, slowly and silently, and Liam saw Mason, Corey and Hayden already waiting for him by the entrance of the school. When they reached the entrance, Theo slowed down a little again and said: ‘I'll see you at lacrosse practice after school.’  


Liam nodded, standing with his friends, and Theo nodded at Mason, Corey and Hayden once before walking into the school. They greeted him back quietly, mumbling something like a hello, before staring after him with strange looks on their faces.  


Then, Mason turned to Liam, a suspicious look on his face.  


‘What the hell was that?’ he asked. ‘What were you doing with Theo?’  


Liam sighed, knowing that he couldn't answer that question honestly.  


‘And, don't get me wrong, Liam,’ Mason said then, gentler than before. ‘But have you forgotten that you were pretty upset because of him just this last week? You said that he hurt you. And now you are coming to school with him?’  


‘I know,’ Liam sighed, knowing that it was only fair that his friends were asking these questions. He knew it must've looked confusing. But he couldn't tell them, even if he disliked being dishonest with them. ‘But... It's different now.’  


‘I... I can't tell you,’ Liam said, hating that he couldn't be honest with them, and deciding to just be as honest as he could. ‘It's a long story. I'm sorry.’ Because he really couldn't tell them. He just couldn't do that to Theo.  


‘It's just different. I can't really explain it,’ he said.  


Mason frowned, not happy with that kind of answer, and Liam couldn't blame him. He felt bad about not being honest with him, didn't like it, but he couldn't do this to Theo.  


‘Come on,’ he said then, to change the subject. ‘If we don't get to class now, we're actually going to be late.’  


Mason frowned, nodding, and exchanged a strange, concerned look with Corey and Hayden. Then they followed Liam inside though, much to his relief, glad that the subject was dropped, and they went to class.

***** 

After school, Liam met Theo again on the lacrosse field. The rest of the team was there too for their practice, with Mason and Hayden watching from the side lines, and after Coach had done his usual motivational speech which was actually questionable, they started.  


Liam didn't know what was going on.  


He seemed to be on a roll, but he wasn't alone. Theo worked with him, together as a team, and he threw to ball to him plenty of times. He paid attention to when the time was right to throw the ball at him, and to what move Liam was going to make next, and they both seemed to able to complement each other perfectly, balancing each other out nicely, and Liam managed to score goal after goal because of Theo. Even if Corey was actually pretty good in goal.  


Liam didn't know what was going on, but if they played like that during their first game, they actually had a chance of winning.  


And he wasn't the only one who noticed it, because Corey, Mason and Hayden saw it too.  


‘Man,’ Mason said after practice, after Liam had and Corey had walked back to the side lines to their friends. ‘What was going on with you and Theo back there? It's like you two were on fire!’  


Liam smiled, still a little unable to believe that that just happened himself. ‘Yeah...’ he said, looking over his shoulder to where Theo was standing by his bag, and gave Liam a small smile. ‘I told you it was different.’  


Mason frowned. ‘Liam,’ he said, taking him over to the bleachers so they could sit. ‘I don't mean to be a dick, but are you sure you know what you're doing? I mean, just like I said, just last week you were upset about him. And... I just don't want you to get hurt again. We're a little worried that that might happen again. Theo seems... Unpredictable, sometimes. We're just looking out for you.’  


Unpredictable, Liam thought, sighing. Another word for calling Theo an asshole then.  


He sighed then though, because he knew they were just looking out for him, and it was true that he had been upset. They thought it had been working out at first between Liam and Theo, but of course his friends would have a change of heart about Theo because of that.  


‘I know,’ he said. ‘And I know that you don't like him all that much. But I know what I'm doing. I can take care of myself.’  


Mason nodded. ‘I know. Just... Know that you can always come talk to us if you need it.’  


Liam smiled, and nodded. ‘Thanks,’ he said, standing up again. ‘Now, should we go to the locker room to change?’  


Corey nodded, and Hayden and Mason followed them.  


‘We'll wait outside,’ Mason said once they reached it, gesturing to himself and Hayden, and Liam and Corey went inside.  


There, Liam made sure to sit on the bench right next to Theo.  


‘Hey,’ Theo said, putting his stuff in his bag.  


‘Hey,’ Liam replied. ‘Practice went well today, didn't it?’  


‘It sure did,’ Theo said.  


‘If we play like that during the game, we might actually win,’ Liam said, repeating his thought from earlier.  


Theo nodded, the corner of his mouth turned upwards ever so slightly. ‘Listen,’ he said then. ‘I'm going... Home,’ the words feeling slightly heavy now that Liam knew what home was like to Theo. ‘But I can give you a ride home if you want. We came with my car this morning.’  


Liam smiled. ‘That's okay. I can walk.’  


‘Are you sure?’  


‘Yeah, I...’  


‘Bye, Liam!’ Corey called, standing by the door of the locker room. ‘Maybe I'll see you this weekend!’  


‘Yeah!’ Liam called back. ‘Bye!’ Waving once before turning back to Theo. ‘I don't live that far away. I can just walk, it's fine.’  


‘Okay, if you're sure...’ Theo said, still a little hesitant, before Liam assured him that he was. He put the last of his stuff in his sports bag before they walked to the exit, and outside, where they both had to go into different directions, with Theo having to go to the parking lot.  


‘Then I'll... See you again tomorrow, for history,’ Theo said, and Liam nodded.  


‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I'll see you tomorrow.’  


Theo gave him a small, tired smile, as much as he could manage. ‘Bye, Liam,’ he said. Then he walked off into the direction of the parking lot.  


‘Bye Theo,’ Liam replied quietly, before he turned around and started to walk home. It was only then, that he realized that Theo was still wearing his shirt.

***** 

When he came home, he found his mom sitting at the table with a tray with tea and cookies, and he smiled.  


‘Hey, Liam,’ his mom smiled, as he dumped his bag and his shoes in a corner by the table, deciding to put them away later and go for tea first. ‘How was school?’  


‘Fine,’ Liam said as he sat down across from her, smiling wide as he thought back on his amazing lacrosse practice. ‘It was fine.’  


His mom smiled, pouring the tea for the both of them. ‘That's good to hear,’ she said, before looking up at him. ‘Listen. There's actually something I want to talk to you about.’  


‘Oh?’ Liam suddenly felt like something was wrong.  


‘Yeah,’ his mom said. ‘It's about Theo.’  


Liam let out a breath, feeling a little relieved. ‘Oh.’  


‘Yeah...’ his mom nodded, taking a sip from her tea. ‘Why was he here last night?’  


Of course that was the question. Liam knew that it was only fair that she wanted to know that, but he just didn't really have an idea of how to answer that. ‘Eh...’  


‘Because I don't mind,’ his mom continued quickly. ‘But he just seemed pretty... upset, and if there's anything I can do to help, I'd like to know.’  


Liam let out a relieved breath; of course she'd react like that. She always wanted to help people, he didn't even know why he ever thought she would mind Theo coming over in the evening.  


He sighed, warming up his hands on his cup of tea. ‘I can't... exactly tell you,’ he started slowly, looking up at her. ‘But... Something happened last year, and Theo is still just trying to get through it.’  


His mom nodded, a pensive look on her face as she tried to take it all in, before looking at her son. ‘You can't tell me?’ she asked softly.  


Liam shook his head, feeling sick to his stomach as he so much as thought of doing that. ‘No,’ he mumbled. ‘No, I... I can't do that to him.’  


His mom nodded, wrapping her hands around her cup of tea and warming them up. ‘I think... It's really good that you protect him,’ she said. ‘That you want to keep his secret to not go behind his back and tell someone, and hurt him. But... Sometimes, some secrets are too much of a burden to keep. Are you sure you can't talk about it with me?’  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he said shakily, suddenly a little too aware of the sudden tears that were burning in his eyes. ‘Yeah, I'm sure. But... I'm not sure how I can help him either. It's a lot, mom, and I'm not sure how I can help him myself!’  


‘Hey,’ his mom said, walking around the table quickly and sitting down next to him, putting a hand on his knee, and he was crying now, and he didn't really know what to do anymore. ‘Hey, sometimes, it's not only our job to help someone. It's wonderful that you're doing this for him, sweetie, and that you're trying to be there for him. I'm sure Theo really needs something like that right now. But you don't have to do it alone. Let other people be there for him too. His friends, his parents...’  


‘But... What if he doesn't let them?’ Liam cried, looking up at his mother and leaning against her, as she wrapped her arms around him. ‘Oh, sweetie...’  


Liam leaned into his mother's touch, burying his face into her shoulder, and crying against her. It took a while before his sobs had started to fade again and he leaned back, looking up at his mom with wet cheeks. She softly brushed his tears away.  


‘He needs time,’ she told him. ‘But I hope that, now that you know, talking to other people will be easier too. Until then, we have to keep letting him know that we'll be there for him, and that we'll always be there when he needs us.’  


Liam nodded, sniffling softly, and wiping some of the tears away with the back of his hand. ‘That's what I do,’ he mumbled. ‘And... And his parents, but he finds it hard to talk to them.’  


His mom nodded understandingly. ‘I'll let him know too,’ she said softly. ‘What he needs is people there for him. If I can help, I'm glad to do it.’  


A small, sad smile appeared on Liam's face, and he sniffled a bit. ‘Thanks mom,’ he mumbled.  


His mom smiled, pulling him into a hug. ‘Just know that if you ever need to talk about something, I'm here for you too.’  


Liam nodded against her, mumbling against her sweater with a muffled voice: ‘Thank you.’  


He did feel thankful that his mom wanted to try and help Theo too, because she was nice like that and it made him a feel a little lighter, even if he wasn't sure Theo would let her. And he felt thankful that his mom was there for him too, so that he wouldn't have to do this alone and could come to her if something was wrong.  


His mom nodded, kissing him on top of his head and leaning back, smiling softly as she saw that the crying had stopped.  


‘Why don't why take the afternoon off?’ she asked then. ‘It's Friday, you can still do your homework later, you don't have to do it now. We can just move to the couch and watch movies.’  


Liam gave her a small smile, nodding shyly. ‘I'd like that,’ he said quietly.  


‘Okay,’ his mom replied, waiting for him to get up before they took their cups of tea to the couch, and picked a movie. Liam sat down on the couch next to her, close to her, and they watched the movie. After the movie had finished, Liam and his mom decided to just watch another one, and they stayed on the couch together, watching movies, until it was dinner time. His mother had texted David, saying that he should bring take-out, and when he came home, they had a relaxed dinner with just the three of them.  


Liam felt better already, feeling thankful for the way his mom had been there for him.  


After dinner, they watched two more movies, this time with David there as well, and after that, Liam went upstairs. It still wasn't too late technically, but he was tired, and he wanted to go to bed.  


In bed, he read a little from a history book before going to sleep that was about the same subject he was currently helping Theo with, but had his interest as well. He didn't read too much though, as he still felt tired.  


Then, he closed the book and placed it on the floor beside his bed, before turning off the light and letting his head rest on the pillow, drifting off into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I make it too heavy? I'm still not sure... What do you think?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Theo grow closer, and decide to hang out after school as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually supposed to be finished yesterday, but it took a little longer than expected. So here it is now!

Theo came over again the next morning, on Saturday, for their history lessons. Liam was excited for it, both because they had reached a subject he was interested in, and to see Theo again.  


Their homework that morning went well, as Theo didn't even need a break halfway through, and was too busy listening to Liam to notice that an hour had passed already. Liam liked the way Theo seemed genuinely interested in the things he said, and the things he explained, nodding along with everything. He also gave Liam his T-shirt back.  


After their homework was finished and Theo was packing his stuff to get ready to go, Liam found that he didn't actually want that. He turned around in his seat, and looked up at him.  


‘Do you, maybe, want to play some more Mario Kart?’ he asked, a little unsure.  


Theo looked down at him, pausing his packing for a moment, and a small smile appeared on his face. ‘Really?’  


Liam nodded.  


Theo's smile grew, and he put his bag back down. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Yeah, eh, that sounds good.’  


Liam nodded, his heart beating just a little faster, and he stood up. ‘Cool. Then I'll... Start the game.’  


Theo nodded, and fell down on the couch with a grin. ‘You do that,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘Although I'm pretty sure I can beat you again.’  


‘Hey,’ for the last time," Liam started as he looked over his shoulder. ‘Last time I had an off-day.’  


‘Hm,’ Theo nodded, chuckling, looking like he didn't believe him. He also looked a little happier, his small smile was a good look on him, Liam thought, and he certainly looked better than when he was at Liam's house the last time.  


Liam stood up then, sitting down on the other end of the couch and giving Theo a controller.  


‘You're gonna lose,’ he said with a smirk.  


‘Oh yeah?’ Theo asked with raised eyebrows. ‘We'll see about that.’  


‘Rainbow Road again?’ Liam asked.  


Theo nodded, and Liam clicked on it. They started their race, both pretty well, but it soon became clear that Liam still wasn't very good at this, as he fell off the road again and his screen turned black. Theo smirked.  


They both did three rounds around the road, but it was clear that Theo had won. Again.  


Liam groaned, and threw his controller on the couch. ‘I can't believe this!’  


Theo grinned. ‘Who said I was gonna lose again?’  


‘Yeah, yeah, rub it in,’ Liam groaned, although he couldn't keep the smile from appearing on his face.  


‘Let's do a different road,’ Theo suggested.  


Liam nodded, choosing another one and clicking on it, before they started racing again. This time, it was more of a challenge for Theo to win, but he still managed to end in first place with Liam right behind him in second place.  


They kept playing the entire morning, until Theo said that he really had to get home.  


Up until that point, during their game, Liam couldn't resist taking a few looks into Theo's direction every now and then, and he noticed how relaxed Theo had looked. Truly, and smiling, like he wasn't thinking about anything for a moment. Liam liked that he could still look like that. It made his heart beat in his chest just a little bit faster.  


Now, though, he stopped the game, and waited for Theo to get his things before he walked with him to the front door.  


‘I'll see you at school?’ he asked there.  


Theo nodded, giving him a small smile. ‘Of course.’  


Liam nodded, his cheeks a little hot, and he smiled.  


‘See you Monday, Liam,’ Theo said then, as he stepped outside.  


‘Yeah, see you Monday,’ Liam replied, before watching Theo walking down the path in the front yard to the street, and slowly closed the door. Then he walked back to the living room, with a smile on his face. He may have gotten his ass kicked on Mario Kart by Theo again, but he'd sure had a lot of fun that morning as well.

***** 

That night, on Saturday night, Liam went over to Mason's house for their weekly movie night. He was still happy to be invited, even though it had been quite a few weeks since he first started at Beacon Hills High School and they'd done quite a few movie nights since then.  


When he got there, and pressed his finger on the doorbell, he could already hear Mason and Corey's voices on the other side of the door.  
‘Liam's here!’ Mason cheered.  


Liam chuckled. That did sound like Mason.  


‘Mase, you were supposed to pay attention to the popcorn!’ Corey's voice sounded. ‘Someone else can open the door too, you know.’  


Liam grinned at all the hassle that apparently came with something as simple as opening the door, but then he saw his three friends walking into the hallway through the glass in the door.  


Then, they opened the door, and Liam grinned. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Opening the door really takes three people then, huh?’  


‘Oh, shut up, we're just happy that you're here,’ Mason replied with a smile, holding the door open for him. ‘Come in, the sooner we can start, the better.’  


‘Mason's really excited, in case you couldn't tell,’ Corey said with raised eyebrows, but still a fond look in his eyes as he looked at Mason.  


‘Hey!’ Mason replied defensively. ‘So what if I'm excited? I just like our movie nights.’  


Liam chuckled. ‘I can tell,’ he said as he stepped inside the house and closed the door behind him, answering Corey's question.  


Together, with the four of them, they walked back to the living room, Corey and Mason's fingers linked together, and they fell down on the couch. Liam immediately felt comfortable, leaning against the back of the couch, and he waited with Corey and Mason until Hayden had come back with the popcorn before they started the first movie.  


During the movie, they stayed mostly silent, aside from the sound of someone grabbing a handful of popcorn every now and then, as they all hated it when people talked through a movie. It wasn't until they started the third movie though, and Hayden came back from the kitchen after she went to get more popcorn, that they took a little break. Hayden smiled, looking at Mason and Corey who were sitting close to each other with Mason's arm wrapped around Corey, with the bowl of popcorn still in her hands.  


‘Look at you two,’ she said, as she sat down next to Liam again and placed the popcorn on the table. ‘Looking all cosy together.’  


Mason grinned, moving to sit up. ‘Jealous, Hayden? Maybe we should have invited that boy you were talking about as well.’  


‘Oh?’ Liam asked curiously, moving to sit up as well to look at Hayden. ‘What boy is that?’  


Hayden stared down at her lap, blushing. ‘No one."  


Mason smirked, looking at Liam. ‘Hayden met someone when she was in Sinema last night. She likes him.’  


‘Ah, Mase, shut up!’ Hayden exclaimed, her cheeks red as she threw a pillow at him.  


Mason giggled, avoiding the pillow and throwing it back at her.  


Liam chuckled, and Corey gave Hayden an apologetic look. ‘You know,’ he said. ‘If you really liked him, you should just give him a call. Who knows, maybe it'll get you somewhere.’  


Hayden coughed, clearing her throat before she answered, and her cheeks getting a little more red. ‘Maybe I will,’ she said quietly. ‘I'll think about it.’  


Corey nodded, smiling softly. ‘It's your decision,’ he said. ‘But whatever you do, it's okay.’  


Liam and Mason nodded in agreement, as they all wanted Hayden to be happy too and they would support her, whatever her decision.  


It made Liam think, though. Would Mason, Corey and Hayden say the same thing about him and Theo? Even if it took a little more time?  


He didn't get the chance to think about it long though, as Mason interrupted his thoughts before he could continue.  


‘Can we now, please, watch the next movie!?’ he exclaimed. ‘This one's gonna be exceptionally good.’  


Corey sighed, a fond smile on his face, and Hayden chuckled as she put the movie on. Then they leaned back against the couch again, enjoying the movie that was playing on the screen, and Liam relaxed, enjoying being here with this friends.

***** 

On Sunday night, Liam found that he had trouble sleeping. He tossed and turned in his bed, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, but too many thoughts were crossing his mind.  


Theo had looked so relaxed the day before, when they were playing Mario Kart together, but Liam still didn't really understand how that came to be. It was so different from how Theo had shown up at his house on Thursday, when they talked and Liam finally understood how Theo felt. He was hurt. And so Liam was confused about what had changed on Saturday.  


He turned around in his bed once more, sighing, before deciding that he'd had enough of it. With a sigh, he sat up in bed and turned the lights on, immediately spotting his phone that was lying on his nightstand.  


He grabbed it, turning it over in his hands a few times as he tried to think about the pros and cons of what he wanted to do, as the familiar name was easy to read in his contact list.  


Theo Raeken.  


Liam sighed, his thumb hovering over the call button, still not sure if he should. He wasn't even sure what he should say.  


Then, as if something out there knew what he was doing and wanted to give him an extra push, his phone started ringing. Liam jumped, a little startled, as he saw Theo's name flashing across the screen.  


With wide eyes he stared at the screen, wondering how the hell it happened that Theo called him at the exact same moment that he wanted to call him, and what kind of coincidence that was, before he answered the phone with shaky hands.  


‘Theo?’  


‘Hey, Liam...’ Theo's voice sounded soft and a little unsure on the other side of the line. He sounded a little off, and Liam suddenly hoped that everything was okay. ‘I, eh, hope that it's okay that I called you, I didn't mean to wake you up or something like that...’  


‘What? No, you didn't,’ Liam interrupted him, sitting up against his pillow. ‘It's totally fine, I promise. I was, eh, actually just thinking about you...’  


They stayed silent for a moment and Liam winced at that, shaking his head as his cheeks heated up. I was just thinking about you? Who the hell says that!?  


‘Really?’ Theo asked then. ‘What were you thinking exactly?’  


Liam could feel his blush getting worse, feeling lucky that Theo couldn't see it right now, coughing and clearing his throat before he answered. ‘Why did you call, Theo? Is everything okay?’  


It stayed silent for a moment, before Theo sighed and started to answer. ‘Eh... I was just... Having trouble sleeping. I couldn't sleep and I didn't really have anyone else to call and you said that I could call you, so...’  


‘Yeah, of course,’ Liam replied, getting a heavy feeling in his stomach as he thought about how Theo had looked when he had stayed over at his house. He must have had another nightmare. It left a bitter taste in Liam's mouth. ‘Of course you can call me. I said that, right? Are you alright?’  


‘I think so,’ Theo said quietly. ‘I just... Don't really want to talk about it. Can we just... Stay on the phone, please?’  


Liam smiled, even though Theo couldn't see it. ‘Sure,’ he said.  


They stayed silent for a moment, before Liam thought of something to say, even if it was something stupid. ‘Did you have a good weekend?’  


‘Eh... I didn't really do much,’ Theo replied quietly. ‘I did some homework. Though I did have fun playing Mario Kart with you.’  


Liam giggled. ‘Me too.’ He paused for a moment, thinking it over, before he said: ‘You know, we can do it more often, if you want. Just after history.’  


‘Really?’ Theo asked. ‘Cause I... I'd like that.’  


‘Okay,’ Liam replied, before he heard Theo chuckling on the other side of the line. ‘Yeah, beating you in Mario Kart every time is definitely fun,’ he said.  


‘Hey!’ Liam exclaimed, and he could hear Theo chuckling, imagining him grinning wickedly on the other side of the line.  


Then he went a little more quiet again, and asked: ‘Can we just... Talk about something? Cause you know I... I couldn't sleep and I think it'd be nice.’  


‘Sure,’ Liam said softly. ‘What do you want to talk about?’  


It stayed quiet on the other side of the line for a moment, before Theo said: ‘Ask me something.’  


Liam chuckled softly at that. ‘What?’  


‘Come on,’ Theo replied. ‘It'll be fun, if you have an original question.’  


Liam laughed, sighing. ‘Eh... Okay.’  


It wasn't really something he would've come up with, but maybe Theo was right and it could be fun. He paused for a moment, thinking of a question. ‘What's your favorite color?’  


Now it was Theo who groaned. ‘Seriously?’ he asked. ‘You're gonna start with that?’  


Liam sighed. ‘Forgive me if I'm not good at asking some random questions, but you started this. I figured I should start off easy.’  


Theo stayed silent, and Liam figured that he silently appreciated that. ‘Blue,’ he said then. ‘My favorite color is blue.’  


Liam smiled, even if Theo couldn't see it, and tried to think of a more original question. ‘What did you want to be when you were younger?’  


Theo giggled at that. ‘A pilot,’ he said. ‘I wanted to be a pilot. Because I always thought that was cool, since you get to go places and all that.’  


Liam chuckled, remembering the map of the world in Theo's room. ‘You like to travel?’ he asked.  


‘Yeah,’ Theo replied. ‘I always figured I get a chance to do that. But... I don't know.’  


Liam nodded a little, despite the fact that Theo couldn't see it. He remembered Theo telling him that he wanted to go to China with Tara.  


Theo stayed silent for a moment before he replied. ‘Right,’ he said quietly.  


‘And now?’ Liam asked then, softly, to start a new subject. He could tell that Theo wanted that.  


‘I don't really know,’ Theo replied honestly. ‘My grades have dropped quite a bit, you know, and I hope I'm gonna make it this year. But I do really like English. I think I could be good at that, you know, something with writing maybe.’  


Liam smiled, his heart warming at that. It was nice to hear Theo talking about something he liked.  


‘What about you?’ Theo asked then, interrupting Liam's thoughts. ‘What do you want to do?’  


Liam didn't have to think about that for very long. He'd know what he wanted for a couple years now. ‘I'm gonna do something with history,’ he said confidently. ‘Maybe I'll teach it.’  


Theo laughed. ‘You should do that,’ he said. ‘I can see you as a history teacher.’  


‘Yeah?’  


‘Yeah, sure,’ Theo continued. ‘I mean... You're good at teaching me.’  


He sounded shy at the compliment, and Liam could feel his cheeks heating up. ‘Really?’  


‘Yeah, really,’ Theo replied. ‘My grades are better already. And... I think you're more fun to listen to than my own teacher.’  


Liam smiled at that, his heart racing in his chest. He was glad to hear that.  


‘Okay,’ he said then. ‘I got another one, listen. Would you rather: travel to outer space or the bottom of the ocean?’  


‘Oh, easy,’ Theo said immediately. ‘The bottom of the ocean.’  


‘What!?’ Liam exclaimed. ‘No, outer space of course.’  


‘No,’ Theo chuckled. ‘Think about all the beautiful things there are in the ocean, all the plants and the animals...’  


‘What, and space is not beautiful?’ Liam asked, almost offended that Theo would choose the ocean over space. ‘Have you seen the stars, on a bright night?’  


‘Well, yeah,’ Theo started. ‘But space is so big, it's... kinda scary.’  


‘So is the ocean,’ Liam protested. ‘Imagine if you get lost there. And it's so deep.’  


‘Yeah, okay,’ Theo laughed. ‘You've made your point.’  


Liam giggled, and Theo continued. ‘I got one for you now too, actually. Would you rather have healing powers, or be able to turn invisible? Let's answer at three, yeah? One, two, three... Turn invisible!’ he called at the same time that Liam replied: ‘Healing powers!’  


‘What!?’ Theo responded. ‘You can't be serious. Imagine if there's an awkward situation, any situation, you can just turn invisible and avoid the whole thing.’  


‘Hm, tempting,’ Liam smirked, hiding the fact that it did sound good because he'd been in quite a few awkward situations himself, because he didn't want to let Theo win. ‘But with healing powers you could do so much more! You could really help people who are sick or injured, don't tell me you don't want that.’  


‘Yeah, yeah,’ Theo said. ‘I see where you're coming from. But I'm still gonna choose invisibility.’  


‘Idiot,’ Liam mumbled, causing Theo to giggle on the other end of the line. It didn't take long until Liam started to laugh along with him then, and when they stopped, Theo already asked another question.  


They talked for what felt like two hours, and Liam felt a warm, proud feeling in his chest every time Theo laughed. He found out that Theo loved sci-fi books and movies, that his favorite band was All Time Low, and that he was actually scared of spiders. In return, Liam told Theo about an embarrassing moment of his, when he helped someone with something, they thanked him, and Liam tried to say 'no problems and 'you're welcome' at the same time, eventually ending up saying 'your problem'. Theo laughed at that, and Liam could feel his cheeks getting a little more red.  


‘Okay, okay,’ he said after that. ‘I've got one more question for you, Theo.’  


Theo sighed, although Liam could imagine that he was smiling. ‘Let's hear it then.’  


‘Okay,’ Liam grinned. ‘If you had one wish, what would you do with it?’  


It stayed silent on the other end of the line, and when Theo didn't answer, Liam frowned. He got ready to ask if Theo was okay, when he heard Theo's voice again.  


‘Liam...’ he said quietly. ‘You know what I would do with it.’  


Immediately, Liam could feel his blood run cold, and his mouth felt dry.  


Shit.  


He hadn't even thought about that.  


‘Theo, I'm sorry,’ he started. ‘I just got so wrapped up in these questions, because it's fun, you know, I didn't really think about what I was saying.’ Because of course Theo would wish that the accident with his sister had never happened.  


‘Liam, it's okay,’ Theo said, sounding a little tired. ‘I get it. I... was having fun too.’  


It didn't feel okay to Liam though. He promised himself that from now on, he would be more careful about what he said. ‘I'm still sorry,’ he mumbled.  


Theo stayed silent for just a moment before he replied. ‘Thanks.’  


Liam closed his eyes and shook his head for a moment at his stupid question, before he said: ‘You know what I don't like?’  


‘What?’ Theo asked gently.  


Liam closed his eyes, taking a breath before he spoke up. ‘That we've never... Really hung out outside of school.’  


It remained silent on the other side of the line, and Liam hurried to speak up again and make himself more clear. ‘Because we... We've been doing history and that's fun, and so is Mario Kart, but...’  


‘But you want to do something else as well?’ Theo cut him off.  


Liam sighed, hoping that he didn't sound too stupid. ‘Yeah.’  


Theo chuckled then, taking Liam by surprise. ‘Then we do that,’ he said.  


Liam's head snapped up. ‘Seriously?’  


Theo laughed. ‘Yeah. We're done with school early on Wednesday, right? Maybe we could go skateboarding.’  


Liam blushed. ‘I can't skate,’ he admitted.  


Theo chuckled. ‘Oh, well, it was just an idea.’  


Liam nodded before realizing that Theo couldn't see it, and opened his mouth to start and reply, before an idea popped into his head. ‘The amusement park is not from here, is it?’ he asked.  


‘No, there's one just outside of Beacon Hills,’ Theo replied. ‘Why? Liam, don't tell me you want to go there.’  


‘Maybe,’ Liam said, defending his own idea. ‘It could be fun!’  


Theo let out a soft breath. ‘I don't know...’  


‘We can go on Saturday,’ Liam tried.  


Theo laughed a little at that. ‘Liam,’ he said. ‘Saturday is still almost a week away. Do you not want to do something before then?’  


‘I would really like this,’ Liam replied honestly. ‘We can even skip history for once.’  


Theo chuckled. ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘You must really want this if you're willing to sacrifice history for it, huh?’  


‘I do,’ Liam said, deciding to leave it at that. He wouldn't push Theo too far if he really didn't want to.  


Theo sighed then. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Okay, we'll go to the amusement park on Saturday.’  


A wide smile appeared on Liam's face at that. ‘Yes!’ he exclaimed. ‘Thank you!’  


Theo chuckled. ‘Just... Be ready to go at ten, I'll pick you up then,’ he said, and Liam could only imagine the small smile on his face.  


‘Okay,’ he replied, staying silent for a moment. He couldn't believe how lucky he was, that Theo wanted to go with him. He was already looking forward to it.  


‘Liam?’ Theo asked then quietly, interrupting his thoughts.  


‘Yeah?’ he asked.  


‘I think... I think I'm gonna hang up now,’ Theo said. ‘I'm getting a little tired, I should go back to sleep.’  


‘Good idea,’ he said. ‘I should go too.’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo said quietly. ‘Just... Thank you for staying on the phone with me.’  


Liam smiled, not caring that Theo wasn't here to see it this time. ‘Anytime,’ he said.  


‘Bye,’ Theo said softly. Then, it went quiet on the other end of the line, and it became clear that Theo had hung up. Liam sighed, staring at his phone for a moment before putting it on his nightstand. Then he lay down again, his head on the pillow, and turned off the light.  


It took a while before he fell asleep, tossing and turning a little after that conversation, but eventually he managed to close his eyes and drift off into a peaceful sleep.

***** 

Liam waited all through the week, with growing anticipation and excitement that grew stronger each day. He couldn't wait until it was Saturday. His friends noticed that something was different about him too, and when they asked about it, Liam couldn't hide the fact that he was going to an amusement park with Theo from them. Their reactions had been reluctant, just like Liam expected. He didn't mind though. He was excited to go there with Theo, and if he could show his friends that things were different now, and that they were getting along, he could only hope that his friends would change their mind about them. He was pretty sure they would, though. They were all supportive for each other after all.  


When Saturday finally came, Liam found himself awake early, a while before it was ten and Theo would show up. He got up and got dressed early, having breakfast with his parents before Theo arrived and the doorbell rang.  


When he did, Liam was quick to open the door, unable to stop feeling excited like he did, to let Theo in.  


Theo was standing on the doorstep, wearing a red plaid shirt, buttons untied, with a grey T-shirt under it, and Liam found himself having trouble breathing for a moment.  


It was just that... Wow. Theo looked so good.  


With a smile, Liam held the door open. ‘Come in,’ he said. ‘I just need to grab some things.’  


Theo nodded, stepping inside, and Liam closed the door. He followed Theo through the hallway to the living room, where he greeted his parents, and grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet.  


‘Hi, Theo,’ his mom said with a smile. ‘You ready for today?’  


Theo nodded, chuckling softly. ‘I think so. I think today will be fun.’  


Liam smiled, glad to hear that Theo felt that way.  


‘That's good to hear,’ Jenna said, as Liam had grabbed his things. ‘Just have fun today, okay?’  


Liam nodded, saying goodbye to his parents before walking to the hallway with Theo, and stepping outside. After they'd walked to the car and gotten inside, Liam started the car, and they drove away. It was silent for the first few minutes they were on the road, only soft music was playing in the background. Liam looked over at Theo with a smile on his face, a happy, warm feeling in his chest, and he asked: ‘Are you sure about this? Cause we can still turn back if...’  


‘I am sure,’ Theo said with a smile. ‘I think... It'll be nice to have something fun to do for a change.’  


Liam nodded, thinking over Theo's words. He just had to trust that Theo wasn't lying to him and that he wasn't actually doing something he didn't want to do, and he really hoped it would be nice because it seemed like it had been a while since Theo had truly done something for fun. He knew that Theo was struggling and that he probably hadn't felt like it up until now, but if he could take Theo's mind off it, even just for a day, he would gladly do it.  


By the time they drove up to the parking lot of the amusement park, the music had been turned up a little louder, and Theo was mumbling along softly. Liam smiled, parking the car in an empty spot, and turning it off.  


They got out of the car then, walking up to the entrance, and after they'd gotten into the park, Theo turned to Liam. ‘Where should we go first?’ he asked.  


‘Let's just... Follow the path and see what's cool then,’ Liam said. ‘Though I definitely want to go on all the rollercoasters.’  


Theo grinned, gesturing for him to come along. ‘Sounds like a plan,’ he said, as they started walking.  


They came past a few rides that were meant for smaller children, and they'd decided to slip them because they seemed boring. It wasn't until they saw the first rollercoaster that they were going to stand in line for it, and Theo looked over at Liam, smiling. ‘I think this is the highest one in the whole park,’ he said. ‘You'd better not be afraid of heights.’  


‘I'm not,’ Liam grinned, crossing his arms. ‘I love rollercoasters.’  


It was true. When he was a little younger, his parents used to take him to amusement parks sometimes, and he always loved the rollercoasters the most.  


‘Me too,’ Theo chuckled. ‘Let's see which one of us can get on the most rides without getting sick, yeah?’  


Liam giggled. ‘Now, that sounds like a plan.’  


The line moved forward then, slowly, and they slowly shuffled forward, closer to the rollercoaster. It still took a while before it was their turn, but when it was, they excitedly hot onto the ride next to each other.  


‘Ready?’ Theo asked.  


Liam grinned. ‘Sure I am.’  


‘Good,’ Theo laughed. ‘Because here we go.’  


They started to ride forward, and Liam held on tightly. Next to him, Theo did the same thing, and soon, they started to go faster. Liam could already feel his excitement growing as they went up, went higher, and then, the ride really begun.

***** 

‘That was awesome!’ Liam exclaimed as they stumbled back into the park after they'd gotten of the rollercoaster.  


Theo chuckled. ‘Yeah?’ he asked, looking at him with a smile. ‘How about we do another one then?’  


‘Yeah, that sounds cool,’ Liam said, nodding. They slowly strolled through the park to the next rollercoaster, close next to each other, with their hands brushing together every now and then. When they got in line, they waited patiently again until it was their turn. Liam admitted to himself that he was having the time of his life, and one look at Theo told him that he felt the same. He hadn't looked that relaxed since the first time they played Mario Kart together.  


It definitely made Liam feel warm inside.  


They repeated the same thing with the other rollercoasters, waiting in line before they could get on, and they knew that they were both having fun. Although they both thought that the highest rollercoaster in the whole park, was definitely the most awesome one.  


Around lunch time, when it was a little later than one o'clock, they noticed that they had actually started to get quite hungry, and Liam took Theo to a food stall somewhere in the park where they sold French fries.  
‘I'll pay,’ he said. ‘Consider this my treat.’  


Theo's eyes sparkled a bit at that, making butterflies flutter in Liam's stomach, and he nodded, waiting until Liam had gotten fries for the both of them. Then, with their fries in their hands, they walked over to the closest bench to eat, and sat down next to each other.  


Theo leaned back against the bench, his legs stretched, and not a single frown to be seen on his face. The slight amount of sunlight made his eyes light up just a bit, making them seem a little more green than they probably were, and Liam swallowed. He looked down, before Theo would notice the blush that had surely appeared on his cheeks. Theo just looked so... beautiful.  


‘You know,’ Theo said then, interrupting Liam's thoughts and making him jump a little. ‘If we eat enough of these fries, maybe we'll both get sick on the next ride.’  


Liam laughed at that. ‘Maybe eating them was a mistake then.’  


‘Yeah, or maybe...’ Theo grinned. ‘Am I just going to eat only half of these and throw the rest away without you noticing, so that you're the only one that gets sick.’  


Liam giggled, looking at Theo. ‘See, that only would've worked if you hadn't told me about it.’  


Theo just chuckled, eating another fry and taking a look around the park. Liam took a look at him, eating a fry himself before he couldn't hold it in anymore and blurted: ‘Do you like it here?’  


Theo's head snapped up, staring at Liam with a sincere look in his eyes. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Yeah, I like it. I wasn't sure about it at first, but so far, it's been really fun.’  


Liam let out a breath of relief, staring down at his lap with what a surely a blush on his cheeks. ‘Oh, good,’ he said, relieved.  


Theo nodded, giving him a small smile. Liam looked up at him, a question just there in the back of his mind, just waiting to be asked.  


‘Can I ask you something?’ he asked, feeling more nervous than he had probably ever felt before. Something in his stomach fluttered.  


Theo looked over at him, the corner of his mouth just slightly turned upwards. ‘Sure.’  


His voice sounded soft, and Liam cleared his throat before he continued, his heart hammering against his chest. ‘Why did you break up with Tracy?’  


Immediately, the smile disappeared from Theo's face, making him look not so relaxed anymore all of a sudden, and he sat up, sighing. Liam almost regretted asking that question, because now Theo didn't look so content anymore, and a lot more serious, and they were in the middle of an amusement park. Almost. Because he had been dying to know that ever since it happened, he could remember how confused he had been when it'd happened, and up until now, there hadn't really been an appropriate moment to ask. They had talked about... other things. But he wanted to know.  


Theo sighed. ‘Okay,’ he said as he sat up. ‘I guess that's a fair question.’  


He took a deep breath. ‘Uhm...’ He paused a moment, before continuing. ‘Tracy and I got together last year, a little while after I became team captain. She'd been interested in me for a while though, I think, always finding excuses to talk to me, and it got worse after I... After the accident.’  


Theo had a pained expression on his face, and Liam gently placed his hand on top of his. Theo looked up, continuing his story.  


‘You know I became team captain then, and it got worse after that, always seeking me out. I think, in the back of my mind, I knew that she was only interested in me because I was captain now, you know, she could show off, but it didn't really matter to me then. For a while, she made me feel better, even if it was only just a little, but then I thought that... That was a pretty messed up reason to be together, and it wasn't healthy either, and I didn't want it anymore. Plus, I... I wasn't interested in her, not like that. So I... I ended it.’  


He looked up at him with a frown on his face, and Liam nodded, his heart beating a little faster in his chest. Neither of them mentioned what had happened between them a few days before that, in Theo's room, although Liam had the weird feeling that that had something to do with it too. He just hoped he wasn't wrong.  


He looked up at Theo. ‘So... You and Tracy were together because you could both benefit from it?’  


Theo nodded, looking a little unsure. ‘Yeah,’ he mumbled. ‘Yeah, I think that's it. I'm sorry.’  


‘No, don't apologize,’ Liam said quickly. ‘I... Get it.’  


Theo looked up. ‘You do?’ he asked, and Liam nodded. At least he was trying to. Because Theo hadn't been in a really good place then, so of course he hadn't made the best decisions either. Honestly, Liam just felt annoyed at Tracy that she had just gone along with it, without caring about how Theo felt, only just to make herself look good. He clenched his fists.  


‘Hey!’ Theo laughed beside him then, a little nervously, his voice breaking through the annoyance that Liam had started to feel. ‘It's okay now, it wasn't that bad.’  


Liam sighed, feeling himself calming down a little again, and he nodded. Maybe it wasn't okay, but he thought that maybe Theo didn't want to talk about it anymore, and that was okay too.  


Theo smiled softly. ‘What do you say we get onto another ride, huh?’  


Liam nodded, a smile appearing on his face as well, and after they'd finished their fries, they got up from the bench. Together, they walked to the next ride, one that they hadn't been on yet, and got in line. Theo chuckled.  


‘I guess we'll see now if eating those fries was a good idea,’ he said.  


Liam groaned. ‘Oh, I didn't even think about that!’  


Theo grinned wickedly, as they shuffled forward in line slowly, and by the time they got on the ride, Liam truly hoped that he would make it.  


‘Come on,’ Theo said next to him, hesitating for only a moment before taking his hand. ‘Let's just enjoy the ride, yeah?’  


Liam looked up, feeling something that was surely a blush appearing on his cheeks, and he nodded as he felt something fluttering in his stomach. That sounded good.  


Then, they began to ride forward.

***** 

As it turned out, going on a rollercoaster so soon after eating, hadn't been the best idea. Liam had to swallow a few times after they had both feet on the ground again, and even though Theo seemed like he was doing better, he was still a little pale.  


‘I win,’ he managed. ‘I feel better than you do.’  


Liam groaned. ‘It wasn't a game!’  


Theo grinned. ‘You're just saying that because you lost.’  


Liam rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop his smile from appearing on his face. Because yeah, that was probably a good point.  


After they had caught their breath, and both felt a little bit better, they decided to go on another ride. Liam really was having the time of his life, and when he looked at Theo, he knew he was too. Liam was honestly just glad that he made Theo feel a little bit better, even if it was only just for a day.  


They went on more rollercoasters after that, some of them that they'd been on before, for almost the rest of the day. Between rides, they decided to get some more snacks, mostly popcorn, and around four o'clock, they decided to take it a little bit easier and go on a ride in the tea cups that could spin around. Theo complained a little, saying that it was for children, but Liam insisted that it was fun. And when they had eventually ended up in the tea cups and Liam kept spinning them around, gradually faster and faster as they kept going, Theo couldn't keep the smile off of his face either.  


A little hour later, around five o'clock, they'd decided that it was time to head back. It had gotten a little late and they still had to drive back to Beacon Hills, which Liam thought wasn't as much fun anymore compared to the day they'd just had. He was just glad that it wasn't all that far.  


Still, though, with music playing in the background and Theo in the passenger's seat to makes jokes with, how bad could it be?  


‘Come on,’ Theo said with a small smile as they walked through the park back to the parking lot. ‘It won't take long.’  


Liam nodded, smiling softly, hoping that Theo wouldn't notice how nervous he was when he reached out and hooked his pinky around Theo's. ‘I know,’ he said. ‘It just... Feels like today went by so quickly.’  


Theo nodded in agreement. ‘Yeah, it did,’ he said softly. ‘But we had fun, right?’  


Liam smiled, nodding. ‘Yeah.’  


He hesitated his moment, but then he pulled his hand back and slowly switched to properly holding Theo's hand instead of just with his pinky, right at the exact same time Theo decided to do the same thing. Liam blushed, and with their hands swinging a little between them, they walked to the car. There, they got in the car, with Liam behind the steering wheel, and with soft music playing in the background, they drove back to Beacon Hills.  


When they arrived back at Liam's house, he slowly stopped and parked the car on the side of the street, and looked over at Theo.  


‘Did you really like it today?’ he asked. ‘Because I... I know that you had doubts about going at first and I can be a little... Much, when I want something, I know that, and I didn't mean to push you, but...’  


‘Liam,’ Theo interrupted him with a slight smile on his face, and Liam looked up. He was aware that he was rambling, but Theo frowned, staring down at his lap, seemingly finding it important to say this the right way.  


‘I did like it today,’ he said. ‘Uhm... With you.’ He looked up, a concentrated look on his face and a slight smile on his lips. ‘You... You just care so much. How can I not like you?’  


Liam could feel his cheeks heating up, suddenly feeling a lot hotter in the car, and his heart was racing in his chest.  


Holy shit. He couldn't believe that Theo had actually just said that.  


‘Really?’ he asked, his heart beating so fast that he was a little worried Theo might hear it. ‘Because I just wanted to help you today, try to make you feel a little bit better.’  


‘I know,’ Theo replied, fumbling with his hands, seeming nervous. ‘And... I think that works. I'm better when I'm with you. I... I feel better.’  


He looked up at Liam, small tears shining in his eyes, but Liam recognized that this time, they weren't sad tears.  


‘You make me laugh,’ Theo mumbled.  


Liam let out a breath, and Theo looked up, wiping his eyes. ‘Listen, Liam,’ he started. ‘I just wanted to apologize for... For what happened when we did homework at my house," he said, referring to their almost kiss. ‘I didn't mean to make you feel hurt or embarrassed, but I just... Didn't feel right, and then there was Tracy...’  


‘I know,’ Liam said gently. ‘I get it.’  


And he did. Since then, he had thought about it a bit, and knew that it wasn't right. He actually appreciated that Theo wouldn't do that to Tracy. Theo wasn't like that.  


‘I guess I'm just glad you're not mad about that,’ he said, letting out a cry and a laugh at the same time, and looked up. ‘Cause I... I'd hate that.’  


‘I wouldn't be mad about something like that,’ Liam said. ‘That would just be stupid. It was the right thing, after all.’  


Theo laughed softly. ‘You know, you've been getting less angry lately, haven't you? And less often, I mean.’  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I think that's true,’ he said. ‘But... It just feels pointless with you, I guess. Like, being angry with you isn't worth it, because you can't always help the way you feel, or act. And getting angry isn't the best way to handle that, I know that. And I guess I... I guess I just feel a little calmer around you anyway. Less fucked up.’  


Theo smiled softly. ‘You're not fucked up, Liam,’ he said quietly. ‘You're just going through some things, we both are. And that's hard, but it's okay.’  


Liam nodded, knowing that Theo was talking about himself as well, and feeling oddly safe and at ease with him in that moment.  


‘You know you won't have to go through it alone, right?’ he asked, looking up at Theo.  


Theo nodded, his eyes lighting up a little. ‘I know,’ he said. ‘Thanks.’  


‘Okay,’ Liam said, a small smile on his face. ‘Okay, good. Now... Should we get out of this damn car?’  


Theo grinned at that, already opening the door. ‘Sounds good to me,’ he chuckled.  


They got out of the car, walking up to the front door, and as they did, Liam felt honestly glad, relieved, that they talked all of that out.  


They came to a stop in front of the front door, and Theo turned to look at Liam.  


‘Well, thanks for taking me to the amusement park today,’ he said, a little awkwardly all of a sudden. ‘I hope we can do something like this again, soon.’  


‘Definitely,’ Liam smiled, his heart beating fast, because he wanted that too.  


Theo nodded, stepping a little closer, before changing his mind and turning away, staring at the ground.  


Liam let out a soft breath, wondering if Theo was really going to do what he thought he would, and taking a small step closer himself, causing Theo to look up again with a newfound hope in his eyes. Liam felt unsure as he stepped closer, his heart racing in his chest, and he leaned in.  


Theo looked up at him with a look of wonder in his eyes, as he did the same thing.  


Liam smiled softly then, closing the distance between them, and pressing his lips against Theo's softly.  


He wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting from it, but it wasn't this. Their kiss felt soft, Theo's lips soft against his, and Liam reached out and took Theo's hand into his own, genuinely unable to believe that he was so lucky that this was actually happening to him right now.  


When they pulled back, Theo's eyes were sparkling and his cheeks were red from blushing, and Liam was sure he didn't look much different.  


‘Oh,’ Theo managed then. ‘That was...’  


‘Yeah,’ Liam laughed, nervously.  


Though he felt like they both knew it was something positive.  


‘Good?’ Theo asked, a little unsure.  


‘Yeah,’ Liam replied with a smile, still feeling a little nervous himself, though it was definitely a good kind of nervous. ‘Good.’  


Theo nodded, with bright eyes.  


Then, they discovered movement in the house, someone walking towards the hallway, and Liam knew it was his mom.  


‘Uhm...’ Theo started, nodding towards his car. ‘I should go.’  


Liam nodded, chuckling. ‘Of course.’  


Theo looked at him hopefully then, a small smile on his lips, and he asked: ‘I'll see you later, though, right?’  


Liam nodded, smiling. ‘Of course.’  


Theo gave him a soft smile then, turning away then, and walking down the path in the front yard. Liam stared after him and Theo turned around again by his car once more, giving him a small smile and waving a little before getting in. Liam chuckled at the gesture, waving back a little, before watching Theo drive down the street and hearing the door opening behind him.  


‘Hey, Liam,’ his mom said. ‘Why don't you come inside? Did Theo leave already?’  


‘Yeah,’ Liam sighed, turning around with what was surely a stupid smile on his face. He still felt a little bit in a trance, the tracks of a kiss still tingling on his lips.  


‘Oh, well, did he not want to come inside? He could've stayed for dinner,’ his mom said as Liam followed her inside, closing the door. She didn't seem to notice Liam's state, as he hardly heard a word she was saying.  


She did notice it, though, when Liam didn't follow her to the living room and instead stayed by the front door.  


‘Liam?’ she asked, turning around. ‘You coming?’  


‘Ehm,’ he breathed. ‘In a minute. I just... Need a minute.’  


His mom smiled, and Liam missed the way she nodded as if she knew what was going on. ‘Okay,’ she said, walking to the living room. ‘I'll see you in a minute then.’  


Then she closed the door and Liam let out a breath, sighing, and leaning against the front door as an another stupid smile formed on his face.  


He couldn't believe that that thing that happened outside, had actually happened.  


In that moment, he certainly felt like the luckiest boy alive.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam is a little worried when Theo is not at school, so he goes to visit him. Theo tries to make things right with his parents and friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo.. It took a while to update this. But this whole chapter was a complete struggle to write, so it took a little longer.  
> This is sad, but hopeful (hopefull :) And long.

Liam kept feeling lucky all through the weekend, and on Monday, he was still a little bit in his trance. He was happy, and he was sure that it was showing on his face as well.  


'You had a good time at the amusement park then?' Mason asked as they walked into the school together.  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah, for sure! It was definitely fun.’  


His stomach fluttered as he thought back on the past weekend again, a bright smile forming on his face.  


‘Well, that's good to hear then,’ Mason said well-meant, smiling, as they walked into the biology classroom and fell down in their seats to wait for the class to start.  


Their class was a bore, Liam thought, and he had trouble paying attention. The teacher kept talking about something that Liam didn't really listen to, and of course Mason noticed, but luckily, he didn't say anything.  
When they walked into the cafeteria after class, during lunch break, Liam was surprised, but glad, to find that Corey and Hayden agreed with what Mason had said earlier.  


‘You look definitely happier and better than last week,’ Hayden said, putting her lunch tray down on the table and sitting down in her seat.  


‘Yeah,’ Mason nodded. ‘I agree. I think we may have been a bit quick to judge. You looked really upset last week, but everyone gets into a fight sometimes, right? That doesn't mean you can't work it out again.’  


Liam nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. Because Mason was right; you could work things out after a fight, like he and Theo had, and Liam was just incredibly relieved that Mason and Corey and Hayden felt the same way. Because their opinions mattered to Liam. He cared about what they thought, and right now, he was just really glad that they were starting to be okay with him and Theo. After the weekend, he was happy, the memory of the kiss still fresh in his mind, and it really had been good.  


Theo seemed happier too. On Monday, the older boy had a smile on his face, despite the weekend being over, and even though it didn't always reach his eyes, the sight of it still made Liam feel warm inside.  


There was one small thing, though, that kind of dampened Liam's mood on the otherwise extraordinary day. He was so happy with the way things turned out Saturday, and now he was a little worried about that as well.  


He had no idea where he stood with Theo.  


They kissed, and Liam loved it, but since then they hadn't talked about it, hadn't talked about what came next, and Liam just felt unsure. Were they boyfriends now? Just the thought of that made Liam's heart beat faster, with the realization that he wanted that.  


And he didn't even know if it was okay to kiss Theo again, but he wanted to know, because my God, he really wanted to do that.  


And for all he knew, Theo wanted that too, and they just hadn't found the right way to talk that over yet because since Saturday, all their interactions had gotten a little awkward and they just didn't really know how to act around each other anymore.  


Liam didn't find an appropriate moment to talk about it soon though, because on Tuesday, Theo looked a little tired, a little drawn away and far away in his thoughts, and Liam had to repeat a question more than once, before it got through to him. It honestly worried Liam a little bit, wondering if Theo was alright, and their talk would have to wait, even though it was hard for Liam to hold his questions back.  


On Wednesday, Theo didn't come to school.  


Liam felt a little upset at it, at first, scared because what if Theo was avoiding him, and didn't want to talk about where they were going from here? What if he had started to regret everything they had done together?  


He didn't think that that would hurt so much.  


Then, though, he grew worried, because Theo was hurting, and he remembered what Theo had been like the day before, all withdrawn and distant, and he wondered if Theo was alright.  


When he tried to call Theo, though, he didn't answer, and it surely didn't help Liam's nerves. It only made him feel more worried, that Theo didn't pick up the phone.  


It made Liam nervous, clenching his fists, because he wanted to go see him and know if he was okay. Luckily, they were done early on Wednesday, and in Liam's head slowly formed the plan to go see Theo after school. Suddenly, Liam found himself being impatient, tapping his fingers on the table until school was over and almost irritating Mason, who was sitting next to him.  


‘You really don't think he's avoiding me?’ Liam asked, when they walked out of the school together, and he walked to the parking lot with Mason, Corey and Hayden.  


‘No, Liam,’ Mason shook his head. ‘From everything you told me, I don't think he would do that.’  


Liam paused, turning to Mason, Corey and Hayden as they were standing in the parking lot, and were on their way to the car. ‘Really?’  


Mason chuckled, nodding. ‘Yeah, really, dude.’  


Hayden agreed with him. ‘He's right, you know,’ she said. ‘From what you've said, I don't think you have much to worry about.’  


Liam blushed, and nodded, because he thought that they were right. They kissed. So maybe his friends were right, maybe Theo liked him back, despite him not being here today.  


‘Yeah,’ Mason started. ‘If you want to go to him, you should.’  


Liam nodded, glad that his friends felt that way. He felt it was important what they thought.  


‘But... Still be careful, okay?’ Mason said then. ‘We don't want you to get hurt again because of another fight.’  


Liam nodded, understandingly. He understood that they didn't want that, and he appreciated that. They were just looking out for him.  


They said goodbye again after that, as Corey and Mason still had to work on their English assignment and Hayden had to babysit her neighbour's kid, and Liam stared after them as they walked into the school again, with a small smile on his face. Mason was honestly great, and a good friend, and Corey and Hayden were just as supportive and much better than his friends at his old school. Liam was glad to have met them.  


He turned around then and continued to his car somewhere in the back of the parking lot, when he suddenly bumped into Scott.  


‘Hey,’ Scott said, grinning. ‘You're done early today too?’  


Scott nodded. ‘Are you going home now?’ he asked, as they started walking again.  


‘No, eh...’ Liam started. ‘I'm actually going to Theo. He wasn't at school today, and I'm worried.’  


Scott looked up at that. ‘That's nice of you,’ he said. ‘Theo deserves someone like you, you know.’  


Liam nodded slowly, wondering what exactly Scott had meant by that.  


He liked Scott, though. Lately they had been getting a little closer, becoming friends a little more, mostly at lacrosse practice, but sometimes in the hallways as well. He hoped that in the future, both of their friendship groups would grow closer as well.  


‘Just... Don't exhaust yourself, okay?’ Scott said then. ‘You don't have to do that to yourself.’  


Liam looked up at him, and nodded. It was the same thing that his friends had said earlier, but he still appreciated it.  


Even though he was gonna go to see Theo anyway.  


‘I won't,’ he replied, and Scott nodded. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘That's good. Well, I gotta go home, you know, homework and all, but I'll see you tomorrow, Liam.’  


Liam nodded. ‘Yeah. See you tomorrow.’  


He and Scott said goodbye to each other then, and as Scott walked away, back to the school, Liam got in his car. Then, he started it, and drove away.

***** 

On his way to Theo’s house, though, Liam’s worry only grew. He wasn’t going to Theo’s house to talk about where they were going from here after all, or what they were going to do now, he was going to Theo's house to see if he was alright.  


He'd been tired and distant the day before, then he hadn't come to school, and he hadn't picked up his phone. Liam knew there had to be something wrong, and his worry grew as he got closer to Theo's house.  


When he got there, he parked his car on the side of the road, and got out of the car a little nervously. He took a deep breath before walking up to the house, ringing the doorbell and wincing a little at the loud noise it made, and tapped his foot on the ground as he waited for the door to open.  


It took a little while, but then he noticed movement in the hallway, and when the door opened, Liam stared directly into Mary's face.  


She looked just like Theo, a little tired, faint bags under her eyes, and her eyes a little red, and Liam swallowed at the sight. Something was clearly wrong.  


‘Hi, Liam,’ Mary said then, smiling, even though it seemed a little forced.  


‘Hi,’ Liam greeted back, even though he wasn't entirely sure what he was gonna say next. ‘I, eh... Is Theo home?’  


Mary smiled, more genuine this time, nodding and holding the door open. ‘Yeah. Do you want to come in?’  


Liam nodded, stepping inside, and as he closed the door and followed Mary to the living room, she said: ‘I'm glad you Theo talked things out, since the last time you were here. He told me.’  


‘He did?’ Liam was a bit surprised at that. He knew that Theo had trouble connecting with his mom.  


Mary nodded, and they sat down on the couch. ‘Yeah. He seemed happy about it.’  


Liam smiled, relieved to hear that. Mary chuckled then, looking around the room. ‘I'm sorry about the mess, Liam, I was just cleaning it up a bit,’ she said. ‘Do you want something to drink?’  


‘Uh, no, thank you,’ Liam said politely. He looked around the familiar living room, but Theo wasn't here. Mary followed his gaze, and seemed to know what he was thinking. ‘He's upstairs, Liam. He hasn't really been downstairs all day.’  


Liam frowned, just starting to ask something, when Mary continued again. ‘He probably didn't mean to worry you, Liam, and he'll be glad you're here, but he kind of shut down since yesterday afternoon. It's...’  


Mary took a deep breath, blinking away some small tears before continuing. ‘Today's exactly twelve months ago that Tara died. It's hard for all of us.’  


Liam swallowed, feeling a bit startled at that, as he suddenly understood everything. His mouth felt dry, and he looked up at Mary. ‘I... I'm sorry,’ he started. ‘Should I...?’  


‘No,’ Mary replied as she understood what he meant. ‘No, you don't have to leave. It's nice that you came to visit, I think Theo would like it.’  


Liam nodded, feeling a bit nervous, as he stood up and starting towards the stairs. Mary nodded at him before going back to cleaning up, and Liam sighed, walking upstairs. He took a deep breath, still feeling a bit nervous as he stopped in front of Theo's bedroom door, and knocked.  


When there was no answer, Liam hesitated, and slowly opened the door.  


Theo was lying in bed, his back to the door, and only when he heard the door opening, did he shuffle around in bed and turned around. ‘Mom, I told you, I'm fine, I don't need... Liam?’  


‘Hi,’ Liam said softly, from the doorway, not really sure what else to say.  


Theo frowned, looking away from him. ‘What are you doing here?’  


‘Uh...’ Liam started as he stepped inside the room and closed the door, hating how awkward everything felt all of a sudden. ‘Your mom let me in. And... I was worried. You weren't at school today.’  


‘I'm fine,’ Theo mumbled, turning on his side again, and suddenly Liam had to clench his fists, the anger building inside because Theo was so fucking stubborn.  


He was obviously not fine, and Liam wanted him to stop saying that he was. He hated seeing Theo like this. It hurt.  


With a sigh, he walked over to him and sat down on the edge of the bed, putting a hand on Theo's shoulder and rubbing it slightly, in hopes of comforting him.  


‘Liam, just leave me alone please,’ Theo mumbled, but Liam shook his head.  


‘Your mom told me what's going on,’ he said quietly. ‘She told me what today is.’  


Theo looked up at him, his eyebrows furrowed. ‘She did?’  


Liam stayed silent, wordlessly answering his question as he gave him a small smile, and rubbing his shoulder a little more. Theo looked up at him, his eyes starting to shine with unshed tears, and looking small, where he was lying in bed.  


Liam swallowed, his heart hurting at the sight and he only hesitated for a moment, hoping he wasn't being weird or creepy, before he kicked his shoes off and lay down next to him.  


Theo stayed silent beside him, pausing his protesting for a moment, much to Liam's relief, and he shuffled closer to him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him closer until Theo was pressed against him. Theo sighed, wrapping his arms around Liam's waist and pressing his face against his shoulder, letting out a few quiet sobs as he curled into him.  


Liam just held him, tighter, as he cried. Tears made his own vision blurry as well, but he didn't let Theo know. Instead he looked down at the other boy, brushing his hair out of his eyes and his heart hurting at the sound of the sobs, but at the same time feeling weirdly proud of him for finally letting his guard down around him.  


‘Ssh,’ he whispered. ‘It's okay.’  


Slowly, only hesitating for a moment, he leaned down and pressed a kiss on Theo's cheek. Theo sighed softly and Liam shuffled closer to him, holding him tight.  


He didn't know how long they kept lying there, slipping in and out of consciousness, but Liam was sure they hadn't been awake the whole time. They had fallen asleep and woken up again, every now and then.  


After a little less than an hour had passed, Theo blinked and seemed more awake than a while before, and he leaned on his elbows and stared down at Liam. ‘Can I... Can I take you somewhere? I want to show you something,’ he said.  


Liam sat up at that as well, and nodded. ‘Yeah, of course.’  


Theo let out a nervous breath at that, sighing shakily, and he nodded. ‘Okay,’ he mumbled nervously, before looking away and sitting on the edge of the bed. Liam followed his lead and they put their shoes on, waiting for each other to be ready before walking downstairs. Theo had grabbed his hand, holding it lightly, and Mary looked up in surprise when they walked into the living room.  


‘Mom, we're... We're going somewhere, I have to do something. I'll text you to let you know when we get back.’  


Mary nodded, smiling. ‘Okay. Don't tire yourself out though.’  


Theo nodded shortly, before turning around and pulling Liam with him. As they walked outside, their hands still linked together, Liam asked: ‘Theo, where are we going?’  


‘Uh...’ Theo paused, looking nervous. ‘It's... It's hard to say. Is it okay if I show you?’  


Liam, who was starting to get a little nervous now too, hoping that it was nothing bad, nodded. ‘Of course.’  


Theo nodded, giving him a small smile. ‘Okay,’ he mumbled, before opening the car door and getting in, Liam following his lead.  


The car ride was quiet, a comfortable silence.  


Liam could tell that Theo was nervous about where they were going, and he wasn't really sure what to say to cheer him up. He reached out, putting his hand on Theo's, squeezing gently. Theo looked over at him, giving him a small smile and seemingly appreciating the gesture.  


When they were a few streets away from the house, and turned another corner, Theo cleared his throat and looked over at Liam. ‘Is it, eh, actually okay if we stop here for a minute?’  


Liam looked out of the window, spotting a florist on their right. And suddenly he had a better idea of where they were going.  


Theo moved to get out of the car, waiting for Liam to come with him before they walked into the shop.  


Liam looked around in awe, taking in all the beautiful, colorful flowers as Theo did what he needed to do and bought the flowers he wanted. Theo was done in the shop soon enough though, only walking to the counter with a bouquet of white lilies, and as he had paid for them and left the shop again, he slowly took Liam's hand again, linking their fingers together. They got in the car again quietly, Liam holding the flowers, and it wasn't long before they parked again in front of the cemetery, just as Liam suspected.  


His mouth felt dry at the sight, and he looked over at Theo, who was, unsurprisingly, looking nervous with tears shining in his eyes. Wordlessly, Liam reached out to him, taking Theo's hand into his own to comfort him.  


‘You okay?’ he asked then, drawing circles on the back of Theo's hand with his thumb.  


Theo shrugged. ‘I don't know,’ he responded hoarsely.  


Liam stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say and instead just being there, but Theo wasted no time getting out of the car then.  


Liam followed after him hurriedly then, slamming the car door shut and running across the street to catch up with him. He wrapped his arm around Theo's waist, as Theo guided them onto the cemetery almost automatically, and stared ahead with an empty look on his face, his tears still on his cheeks. He lead them to the middle of the cemetery, where they stopped at and Liam looked down at the grey headstone that read:  


_Tara Raeken_  
_Aged 20_  
_1997 – 2017_  
_Beloved daughter and sister_  
_Always loving, always loved_  


He looked over at Theo, unsurprised to find tears shining in his eyes. Slowly, he linked their fingers together, and stepped closer to him.  


‘Come,’ he murmured as he kneeled down in front of the headstone, and made sure Theo did the same. He took Theo's hands in his own then, and together, they put the flowers down in front of the gravestone.  


They took a moment before getting up again. Theo hesitantly let go of the flowers, touching them one more time before they slowly stood up again, and Theo sniffled quietly. Liam pulled him closer, wrapping his arm around his shoulders, and Theo pressed his face against Liam's neck as he softly mumbled: ‘Thank you. I wasn't sure if I could do this alone.’  


‘You don't have to,’ Liam replied softly.  


Theo looked up at him, with tears glistening in his eyes. ‘I know,’ he said. ‘Thanks. I just... Sometimes I just don't even know what to do anymore.’  


His tears had started to roll down his cheeks, and he looked and sounded upset as sobs interrupted his voice as he tried to speak and made it hard for Liam to understand him.  


‘I know... I know I haven't been the best person this last year,’ Theo whimpered, resting his head on Liam's shoulder. ‘But I'm sorry, and I wanna see if I can do better. I'm just sick of being alone, and having no one and nobody.’  


He was sobbing then, giving Liam a hurt feeling in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around Theo and pulled him closer, as Theo cried against him. He rested his head against Theo's shoulder, holding him closer until the sobs started to fade away again. Theo pulled back then, looking at Liam with red eyes, and he cleared his throat before he said: ‘I want to try and see if I can fix things with my parents, and my friends. Will you help me?’  


Liam smiled, nodding immediately, and reaching out to grab Theo's hand. ‘Of course I'll help you,’ he said, noticing the way Theo let out a relieved breath. He nodded, mumbling something that sounded like 'okay.' Liam nodded, giving Theo a small smile. He was sure he hadn't ever really been as proud of Theo, as he was then.

***** 

‘Theo?’ Liam asked later, after having taken a calming walk together, and were now sitting on a bench at the park.  


‘Yeah?’ Theo replied, looking up.  


‘What... What are we gonna do?’ Liam asked, avoiding Theo's gaze as he asked the question, and clenching his fists as a nervous feeling fluttered in his stomach. ‘I mean... What are we?’  


He knew that it was wrong to ask this now, and that Theo probably wasn't up for it, but the questions had been difficult to hold back earlier, and now he just couldn't anymore.  


Theo had a soft, slightly surprised look on his face, but he seemed to understand what Liam was saying.  


Liam fumbled with his hands, nervously. ‘Because I... I don't know where we stand.’  


Somehow, it took him all he had to ask that question, his heart racing in his chest anxiously, and Theo let out a soft laugh. Liam could see new tears shining in his eyes.  


‘Liam...’ he started, as he looked up at him. ‘I... I don't even know what you see in me. I'm a mess. I'm not... I'm not okay, and I don't even know when I will be again.’  


He sniffled softly, looking down at his lap as he fumbled with the hem of his shirt, and Liam looked over at him with wide eyes, as they started to burn with the feeling of upcoming tears of his own. It still hurt to hear that Theo felt like that.  


He turned to Theo, softly brushing away his tears with his thumbs. ‘You will be,’ he said. ‘I promise. And... You know, I'm proud of you.’  


Theo looked up at him with a soft, surprised look in his eyes, and Liam nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he said, a blush growing on his cheeks and a warm feeling burning in his stomach, as he took Theo's hands into his own. ‘Do you know how strong you are? I mean, I know it's hard, every day, and yet, you still keep going every single day. I admire that, Theo. I'm proud of you. And...’ Liam hesitated, wondering if he should say this, but still going through with it in the end. ‘Tara would be proud of you too.’  


Theo took in a deep breath at that, looking up at Liam with wide, teary eyes. ‘You... You really mean that?’ he asked, shakily. ‘You really think so?’  


Liam nodded. ‘I do,’ he said confidently. ‘Tara would be proud of you.’  


Theo let out a soft breath, that sounded like a sob and a laugh at the same time, as big, silent tears rolled down his cheeks. ‘Wow,’ he managed. ‘I... I didn't you know you felt like that. I hope so too.’  


He sniffled, his hands trembling as he wiped away his own tears. ‘I'm just... I'm making a mess everywhere.’  


He let out a wet laugh, and Liam shuffled closer to him. ‘Don't worry,’ he said reassuringly, while rubbing circles on Theo's back until he stopped shaking so badly. He understood where Theo was coming from, and that things like this could feel overwhelming sometimes.  


Theo looked up at him, and when Liam noticed how close they were, his heart started to beat faster in his chest. He could almost see a spark in Theo's eyes.  


‘Thank you,’ Theo said then, quietly. ‘For always saying the right things.’  


Liam smiled softly, blushing. He didn't think that he was doing that, but if Theo felt that way about things, he would keep trying.  


‘Come on,’ he said softly, turning towards the older boy and brushing away his tears with his thumbs. Theo giggled softly at that, looking over at him. ‘Thanks.’  


Liam let out a soft laugh then too, looking over at Theo into his light green eyes and noticing the way he was sitting close to him, and suddenly in a more serious mood, he asked shyly: ‘Can I kiss you?’  


He was sure he was as red as a tomato in that moment, but Theo simply nodded, his smile widening on his face. ‘Yeah,’ he said softly. ‘You can kiss me.’  


Something in Liam's stomach fluttered and he leaned forward, his hands on either side of Theo's face, as he pressed his lips against Theo's softly. He wasn't really sure how it differed from their first kiss, but it did, and it all felt a bit more familiar now that they knew each other. He could still feel how Theo's cheeks were a little wet from earlier, as he cried softly while they kissed, but now, Liam recognized that they weren't sad tears.  


Slowly, Theo pulled back, and looked at Liam with a smile on his face. ‘About that question from earlier...’ he started, grinning shyly, and Liam didn't have to ask to know what he was talking about. He grinned, feeling like he had gathered all the courage he had as he asked: ‘Boyfriends, then?’  


Theo nodded, his smile widening. ‘I like the sound of that,’ he admitted shyly, blushing.  


Immediately, a feeling of relief washed over Liam and he smiled, nodding and leaning in to press his lips against Theo's again. His stomach fluttered.  


When they pulled back again, Theo had a serious look on his face, and Liam frowned, wordlessly asking him to tell him what was going on.  


‘Liam?’ Theo asked, quietly.  


‘Yeah?’  


Theo looked up. ‘I want to talk to my parents.’  


Liam paused for a moment, thinking of the best words to say, before he looked over at him and took his hand. ‘I think... That that's good,’ he said then. ‘It's a big step to take, and I think it's good that you do it now.’  


Theo had a soft look on his face as he looked at him, the thankfulness that Liam felt that way visible in his eyes. He let out a sigh, linking their fingers together and pulling Liam with him as he stood up. ‘Can we just get out of here?’ he asked with a small smile.  


‘Yeah,’ Liam chuckled as they walked back to the car. ‘Let's do that.’  


They got into the car, Theo on the driver's side, and he calmly started driving back to his house, until Liam spotted something on his right that caught his attention.  


‘Theo? Is it okay if we stop here for a while?’  


Theo followed his gaze, looking towards the McDonalds on the side of the road, and he chuckled. ‘Are you hungry, Liam?’  


‘Yeah, kinda,’ Liam replied with a blush. ‘What about you?’  


Theo shrugged. ‘I don't know. I don't really feel like going in there.’  


Liam nodded, understandingly. He didn't always feel like dealing with people either. ‘That's okay. We can just go through the drive thru.’  


Theo smiled at that, nodding, and Liam drove towards the line in the drive thru, where he ordered two cheeseburgers and Coca Cola for them. They parked in the parking lot once they got them, and Theo opened the box with his cheeseburger with a hungry look on his face.  


‘Hmm,’ he said, taking a bite. ‘This is good. It's been so long since I've done this.’  


Liam giggled, as Theo seemed to really enjoy his cheeseburger. Hearing that he was the first one to do this with Theo after such a long time, really did make him feel special. As he looked up at Theo though, he giggled, and pointed towards the corner of his mouth. ‘You got some...’  


‘...Ketchup?’ Theo chuckled with raised eyebrows. ‘Thanks for pointing that out, or I would've looked like a real idiot.’  


‘You mean, like you didn't already,’ Liam giggled in response, earning himself a soft slap against his head from Theo. ‘Hey!’  


Liam couldn't hold his laugh in anymore then, and Theo leaned back against his car seat with a feigned sad look in his eyes. ‘Is this what our relationship is gonna be like now? You bullying me?’  


‘Yup, maybe,’ Liam grinned, managing to hide the way his heart sped up at the word 'relationship'. That was gonna take some getting used to. In a good way though, obviously.  


‘Well, that's... That's great,’ Theo mumbled sarcastically. ‘I might have to return you now,’ he said, causing Liam to laugh harder. Theo chuckled along with him, looking at him with a warm look in his eyes.  


They stayed in the car until they finished their cheeseburgers, before throwing their trash away, and driving back to Theo's house. Liam felt relaxed leaning against the back of his seat as Theo drove, looking out of the window, until he suddenly noticed that something was different.  


He noticed that the car had sped up considerably, going faster than a moment before, and as Liam looked up at Theo with a worried look on his face, he immediately noticed that something was wrong.  


Theo had paled considerably, and he had gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white. He stared straight at the road ahead of them, clearly tense, and even though Liam didn't really know what was going on, he had to focus on calming Theo down right now.  


‘Theo?’ he said quietly. ‘Can you slow down, please?’  


He wasn't sure Theo was hearing him, or if he was even listening, and he placed his hand on Theo's right hand on the steering wheel. ‘Theo, can you slow down, please? Just slow down.’  


He noticed the unshed tears shining in Theo's eyes, letting him know that something was really wrong, and he squeezed Theo's hand gently. ‘Theo? Stop the car, okay? Just pull over.’  


Theo nodded, not looking at him as he did what Liam said, and a few tears silently rolled down his cheeks.  


‘What's wrong?’ Liam asked softly, worriedly, as he took both of Theo's hands into his own. A few minutes ago, they'd been happy, joking around and eating cheeseburgers together, and now everything had changed. Liam didn't understand. But he hoped Theo would tell him.  


‘That was it, you know,’ Theo said quietly, nodding towards the road outside as tears silently fell from his eyes. ‘That's where it happened. That's where the accident happened.’  


Liam could feel the shock settle in as he stared out of the window, something churning in his stomach, and his jaw dropped as he spotted the colorful wooden butterfly that someone must have made, with Tara's name on it, and a few flowers lying around it. A memorial.  


‘Oh. Oh, Theo, I'm sorry,’ Liam started hurriedly. ‘We should have chosen a different route, or... Or you should've let me drive, or...’  


‘Liam,’ Theo interrupted him, tiredly. ‘It's okay. I chose this route, not you.’  


Liam swallowed, staying quiet, but he couldn't sit still anymore as big tears started to fall from Theo's eyes. He leaned forward, pulling Theo into a hug and wrapping his arms around him, rubbing comforting circles on his back. The quiet sobs that filled the otherwise silent car, broke his heart as he listened to them and brought tears to his own eyes, blurring his vision.  


When Theo pulled back, Liam brushed away his tears softly, and Theo sniffled, staring down at his lap. ‘I'm sorry,’ he mumbled. ‘That was...’  


Liam smiled softly, rubbing small circles on the back of Theo's hand with his thumb. He could tell that Theo was embarrassed, and upset, and he didn't want that. ‘Don't worry,’ he said softly, genuinely. ‘You don't have to apologize.’  


Theo looked up at him, a warm, slightly surprised look in his wide eyes, and he slowly leaned forward to pull Liam into another hug. He rested his head against Liam's shoulder, and as Liam had his own arms wrapped around him, he could feel a warm feeling flowing through him, calm and peaceful.  


‘Thank you, Liam,’ Theo said softly as he started to pull back again. ‘Thank you.’  


Liam smiled softly, leaning backwards. ‘How about we just go home, yeah?’ he asked. ‘I'll drive.’  


Theo nodded, smiling softly in gratitude. ‘Yeah, that sounds good.’  


‘Okay,’ Liam nodded, before they got out of the car to switch seats, and he started to drive them home. The music from the radio that they had turned on, was playing softly in the background and by the time they pulled over on the side of the street in front of Theo's house, he had new tears in his eyes.  


‘You know, this... This was her favorite song,’ he said, nodding towards the radio, laughing wetly.  


Liam nodded slowly. ‘It's a good one,’ he said softly.  


Theo chuckled. ‘Yeah, it is, isn't it?’ He looked up then, with a more serious look on his face. ‘Today hasn't been very easy for me,’ he said. ‘I didn't think today would go by so easily, let alone with a laugh. I was happy to just stay in my room today, but then you show up, and then the whole day turns out different than I thought. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry when I didn't show up at school today.’  


‘Hey, I get it,’ Liam replied softly, and Theo nodded, letting out a sigh and staring down at his lap as he said: ‘I'm gonna talk to my parents now. When I get inside.’  


Liam nodded, taking Theo's hand again. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’  


‘No,’ Theo shook his head. ‘No, I think... I think that this is just something I have to do.’  


‘Okay,’ Liam nodded, looking over at him. "And... I think it's good that you're doing this. You're strong for doing this. And if you want to call me after, I'm there to answer the phone.’  


‘Thank you,’ Theo replied shakily. ‘For giving me this extra push. I think I needed that.’  


Liam swallowed, blinking back tears as he felt emotional at that compliment, and he leaned over and pulled Theo into a hug.  


When they pulled back, they got out of the car and walked up to the front door together, where Theo turned towards Liam.  


‘You got this,’ Liam said, forcing himself to smile to reassure Theo.  


‘I hope you're right,’ Theo mumbled.  


Liam smiled softly, stepping forward to press a soft kiss on Theo's lips, his fingers under his chin. ‘I am,’ he said confidently. ‘You got this.’  


‘Okay.’ Theo let out a shaky breath, mentally preparing himself, and turning towards the front door to open it.  


‘And you can always call me,’ Liam said again.  


Theo nodded, looking over his shoulder. ‘I'll keep that in mind,’ he said. He gave Liam a small smile, before turning and opening the door, and going inside.  


Liam smiled, before he turned around, and went home.

***** 

‘I talked to my parents.’  


Theo's voice sounded soft on the other end of the line, like he wasn't sure what to say, and Liam smiled, already feeling proud of him.  


He was lying on his bed, his head resting against his pillow, and shifting around a bit so he could talk to Theo. ‘How did it go?’  


‘Uh...’ Theo paused, letting out a sigh as he thought over his next words, and Liam heard some rustling on the other side of the line, which was probably Theo sitting down before he answered. ‘It was... It was hard, Liam. Hard to just sit there and look at them, and trying to figure out what I should say.’  


It stayed silent for a moment, as Theo paused for a bit to think of what to say next and moved around a bit to get more comfortable, and Liam listened to him. Then, he continued, telling his story.  


‘They were just sitting there on the couch across from me, with those sympathetic looks on their faces, and... It was a lot to take in. I... Needed a minute to think where I should start, but then I managed to tell them that... I wanted to talk about things, and that I needed to tell them something, and that I wanted to apologize.’  


Liam could tell by Theo's voice that he started to cry, softly, and his heart hurt as he imagined small tears rolling down Theo's cheeks. He stayed silent, not getting the chance to say something as Theo started to talk again.  


‘I... I told them I was sorry for snapping at them, and then I... I had to tell the reason,’ Theo cried, sobbing, taking a few deep breaths before continuing again. Liam's heart hurt painfully.  


‘So I told them how I felt, about what happened, and about what was going on. My mom cried, Liam. She kept saying these things about how she wished I told them sooner, so that she could've helped me, and that none of it was my fault.’  


‘It wasn't,’ Liam whispered, as tears of his own started to gather in his eyes. He hated hearing Theo like this.  


‘But I still just feel this way,’ Theo sobbed. "Just so guilty all the time. I don't want it.’  


Liam sniffled. ‘You're not,’ he said, even though he wasn't sure Theo had heard him.  


‘So then I apologized,’ he continued, whimpering. ‘And then mom said that I didn't have to, and then she apologized, because she should've noticed how I felt, and that she should've been there for me, not letting me go through this alone.’  


His voice was shaking, difficult to understand because he was crying so much, and Liam swallowed, feeling hurt. He wished he was there with Theo in person, so he could just hug him and hold him close, so that he would never feel alone as he cried.  


‘I just thought they were angry with me, for what happened, and I just didn't know what to do, and then they found out about that. And then finding out that they weren't, and that they were just worried about me... That felt like such a relief. I'm so relieved, Liam.  


Theo let out a sob, and Liam found that his cheeks weren't all dry either. His vision was a little blurry from his tears, and a few escaped from his eyes and fell down his cheeks.  


‘I'm glad,’ he whispered. ‘You should feel relieved.’  


‘Yeah?’ Theo sniffled on the other side. ‘I... I don't know what to do now. I'm just so glad that it all worked out. And... Oh, God, I'm shaking so much.’  


Liam took a deep breath, and sat up against his pillow a little more. ‘Listen,’ he started. ‘You took a big step today. I know this wasn't easy, but you did it. You really accomplished something. I'm proud of you. You should be proud of yourself too.’  


Theo sobbed, his voice sounding a bit distorted as he said: ‘Thank you, Liam. Thank you.’  


Liam smiled softly, his heart beating a little faster in his chest, glad that he could help Theo.  


‘I'm just so tired now,’ Theo sighed then.  


Liam smiled. ‘That's understandable,’ he said. ‘You've had a long day. Try to get some sleep.’  


‘I think I will,’ Theo whispered. ‘Thanks.’  


‘Good night, Theo,’ Liam replied softly. ‘I'll see you tomorrow.’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo sighed, already sounding like he was drifting off to sleep.  


‘And..." Liam paused for a moment. ‘I'm proud of you.’  


Theo didn't hear it anymore. He had already hung up the phone.

***** 

One by one, Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia wandered into the house, and into Theo's living room. Theo followed after them, with Liam next to him, and closed the door.  


Once they were all there, Theo sat down on the couch across from them nervously, with Liam next to him. It remained silent for a moment, everything feeling rather tense.  


‘So,’ Malia said then. ‘Is someone gonna tell me what we're doing here?’  


‘Uh, yeah,’ Theo let out a nervous laugh, clearing his throat before he continued. ‘I, eh, invited you here because I know we haven't really talked this last year, and I, eh, thought there were some things I wanted to explain.’  


Liam placed his hand on Theo's back, where nobody could see, because he already heard how nervous Theo was.  


‘That's the understatement of the year,’ Stiles mumbled, slumped back against the couch.  


Theo's small smile faltered for a moment, looking hurt, before it returned again, and Liam frowned. He didn't really like Stiles, and he didn't understand why someone as nice as Scott would be friends with someone who seemed to be a bit rude like Stiles.  


‘Well, explain,’ Malia said, as Theo stayed silent too long for her liking. Scott shot her a look, but Theo chuckled nervously.  


‘Right,’ he said, before his expression turned serious again. ‘Okay, eh...’  


He paused for a moment, thinking of the right words to say and leaning into Liam's touch for comfort, before he continued again. ‘Okay, eh, I realize that I haven't been the best person this last year, but that's also kinda why I wanna do this. I wanted to say some things, because I felt like you deserved that.’  


He took a deep breath, before continuing again. ‘Okay, so, you know about Tara's... About what happened with the accident. But... I don't think I've ever really explained everything.’  


Scott's eyes widened. ‘What do you mean?’  


‘Uhm,’ Theo let out a nervous breath before he continued, telling them the same story that he had told Liam. It surprised Liam a little bit, as he had thought that Scott and the others had known the whole story already. He understood everything about their fight a little better now though.  


‘Tara and I were bored, so mom made us go to the store. She needed some things. We went there together, without a list, but on the way back, when I drove, Tara was convinced that we'd forgotten something. I wasn't, and so we bickered about it a bit. It was alright, though, when we turned the radio on.’  


Theo took a deep breath, in and out, and Liam softly moved his hand up and down his back. He could see the tears in the other boy's eyes.  


‘We didn't like listening to the same kind of music though, and we argued about it, as well as whether we'd forgotten some groceries.’  


He couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes, as he sniffled, and Liam placed his hands on Theo's shoulders, rubbing them softly. Scott and Malia exchanged a look, with Scott looking sympathetic and leaning forward slightly as if he wanted to get up and comfort Theo, but no one said anything as Theo continued.  


‘There was a car,’ he whispered, avoiding their gazes and looking down at his lap instead. ‘I didn't see it, at first. And then when I did... I couldn't do anything anymore. I managed to dive out of the way, but... There was a tree, on the side of the road. We...’ he took a deep breath, letting out a sob. ‘We crashed. I don't really know what happened after that. They took us to the hospital, but I hit my head. I blacked out. And Tara...’  


Theo couldn't finish his sentence. He hid his face in his hands, sobbing, and Liam softly rubbed his shoulder as he looked around the room, spotting the shocked looks on everyone's faces. Scott's eyes were wide, a little damp, and Stiles, Lydia and Malia didn't look much better, staring at Theo with wide eyes.  


It remained silent in the room for a only moment, no one knowing what to say, before Scott stood up and walked over to Theo.  


‘Shit man,’ he mumbled, sitting down next to him and fidgeting with his hands. ‘I wish... I wish that you felt like you could've told us sooner.’ He looked up at Theo then, his eyes a little red and his arms open. ‘Come here, man. Please.’  


Theo let out a sob, nodding, and leaning into Scott's touch. ‘I couldn't,’ he whimpered. ‘I could barely even think about it, let alone talk about it!’  


Liam swallowed, a hurt feeling in his chest, rubbing Theo's arm softly. Lydia let out a soft sigh, brushing through her hair.  


‘I... I understand,’ she said, a little hoarsely. ‘That's... Theo, I'm so sorry.’  


Theo looked up, his eyes red and watery, and his cheeks still wet from the tears. ‘I'm sorry,’ he said, his voice sounding a little distorted and difficult to understand because of his crying. ‘I know I have been a shitty friend, and I've made bad decisions, pushing you all away and all that. I'm sorry.’  


‘Oh my God,’ Stiles groaned, hiding his face in his hands and sliding down past the back of the couch. ‘We're terrible friends. We're the worst friends in the world.’  


Lydia shook her head, placing her hand on her boyfriend's knee. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Let's not focus on that. Let's focus on how we're gonna work this out.’  


Stiles sighed, looking up at her, and Theo sniffled.  


‘I wanna try that,’ he said, looking at Scott. ‘I wanna try and see if we can fix this and be friends again. I know I haven't been the best, but...’  


‘That works for me,’ Scott interrupted him, genuinely.  


Theo looked up at him, thankful, and Scott looked around the room. ‘I don't know how anyone else feels about it though...’ he said, sounding unsure.  


Malia still had a pensive look on her face, biting her lip. ‘I think... That all of us did things we're not proud of,’ she said. ‘But, I get it. We shouldn't... We shouldn't be upset about it anymore.’  


Theo looked up, his eyes red and an overwhelmed look on his face, as if he hadn't really expected this kind of comment from her. Liam rubbed his back softly.  


Malia stood up, a small smile on her face. ‘Come,’ she said, pulling Theo into a hug.  


‘Thank you,’ Theo sighed softly in relief, his voice sounding muffled as his face was pressed against her shoulder.  


‘I should... Too,’ Stiles mumbled, getting up and joining in on the hug, before Scott and Lydia did too.  


‘I'm sorry,’ he mumbled.  


Theo looked up at him, his eyes a little red and damp. ‘Thank you,’ he said quietly. ‘Me too.’  


Liam looked at him proudly, smiling, for trying to make things right with his friends, all of them hugging each other tightly right now, and for coming so far. He deserved this.  


When Scott and the others pulled back, they smiled softly.  


‘Hey,’ Scott asked. ‘Are you okay? Have you... Have you been okay? Not alone?’  


Theo sniffled, letting out a sob and looking up at Liam with watery eyes, even though Liam recognized that they weren't sad tears.  


‘Yeah,’ he breathed, letting out a sob and a laugh at the same time and rubbing his eyes, looking up at him. ‘I was, at first. But Liam's really been there for me.’  


Liam could feel the blush on his cheeks, making them heat up, and he got a warm feeling in his chest at Theo's comment, his heart racing at five pairs of eyes directed at him.  


Scott smiled widely. ‘That's good,’ he said, proudly. ‘I'm sorry we weren't, I know we should have been, but that's good.’  


Liam blinked back his own tears, remaining silent, and Theo nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he said softly, taking Liam's hand into his and looking up at him with a warm look in his eyes.  


Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia exchanged a look at that then, all of them looking suspicious, but smiling proudly. They knew, Liam saw. And they were okay with it.  


He let out a breath in relief, knowing that Theo felt the same.  


‘So,’ Scott said then, looking at Theo and placing a hand on his shoulder. ‘What do you want to do now?’  


‘Eh...’ Theo hesitated. Liam saw that he was tired, but also that he didn't want to be rude and send them away. Not so soon after they'd started to work things out.  


Thankfully, Scott saw it too, and he nodded. ‘I get it man. You don't have to explain.’  


‘No,’ Lydia agreed, with a small smile on her face. ‘I know it's a lot, this. But even just bringing up the courage to talk about, is really something.’  


Stiles and Malia nodded, humming in agreement. Scott looked over Theo then. ‘Should we, eh, go home then?’ he asked.  


‘Eh, you don't have to...’ Theo started, but Scott interrupted him, chuckling. ‘Theo,’ he said. ‘It's okay. We'll just see you on Monday next week, okay?’  


Theo remained silent for a moment, nodding. ‘Yeah, okay,’ he said softly then.  


Lydia nodded, grabbing her bag and getting ready to go. ‘Just... Try to take it a little easy this weekend, okay?’  


Theo stayed silent, smiling softly. He watched as Malia, Scott and Stiles gathered their stuff, and made their way to the front door. Theo and Liam walked with them, and as Theo pulled the door open, Scott, Malia, Stiles and Lydia turned to him once more.  


‘I'll see you Monday,’ Lydia said with a smile, hugging him once more.  


Malia, Scott and Stiles followed her lead, all pulling him into a quick hug before stepping outside. Stiles had an apologetic look on his face, looking guilty for how he behaved all this time. Theo gave a small smile.  


‘Bye,’ he said quietly, waiting for them to respond before closing the door. Then he turned towards Liam, who was looking at him with an expectant look on his face. ‘Are you okay?’  


‘Yeah, I think so,’ Theo sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. ‘Can we just... Go back to the living room?’  


Liam smiled. ‘Sure,’ he said, linking their hands together as they walked back. ‘What do you want to do now?’  


Theo looked up, looking tired, but still with a warm look in his eyes. ‘I think... I just want to watch a movie with my boyfriend.’  


Liam blushed, his cheeks heating up and his heart beating faster. ‘That can be arranged,’ he mumbled, shyly.  


Theo chuckled, as they fell down on the couch together. ‘Something simple on Netflix?’ he asked. ‘That doesn't require too much thinking?’  


‘Sure,’ Liam smiled.  


‘And...’ Theo looked up at him. ‘Can we order some food?’  


Liam chuckled, looking down at him. ‘All the junk food you want,’ he laughed.  


‘That sounds like a plan,’ Theo laughed softly, as Liam clicked on a movie.  


They ended up with pizza, eating it straight out of the box as they started their second movie. Up until now they had joked around, laughed and made dumb comments about the movies they were watching, but now, Liam suddenly noticed that it had gone suspiciously quiet next to him. When he looked down, he understood why.  


Theo had fallen asleep, leaning against the back of the couch with his face completely relaxed, not a single frown to be found, and snoring softly. He looked so young like this.  


He looked adorable.  


Liam blushed, his heart beating faster in his chest, and he carefully pulled Theo closer, to not wake him up. He let out a soft sigh, but then he rested his head on Liam's shoulder, and relaxed again. Liam smiled, wrapping an arm around him and leaning against him, and like that, he continued watching the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lacrosse game, which isn't easy for Liam. He relaxes a bit, by taking Theo out on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter! Though I'm gonna do a little epilogue after this, this is the last 'real' chapter. I'm really happy I finally got this written!

Liam walked into the school proudly on Monday, his hand linked together with Theo's. He had the slight feeling that everyone was looking at them, but that might just be because he felt like the only thing that mattered in that moment, were Theo and him.  


The sun was shining slightly, and when Liam looked to the side, he saw a soft smile on Theo's face. He looked happy and relaxed, and Liam's heart started to beat only a little faster.  


Calmly, they walked into the school together, first stopping by Theo's locker and then by Liam's, before walking further down the hallway where they both had to go their own way and go to different classrooms.  


Before they could though, Liam saw his friends standing at the end of the hallway, in front of the door of their classroom, looking at them with weird looks on their faces.  


Liam sighed, looking over at Theo with a soft look on his face. ‘Come on,’ he said softly, slowly pulling Theo with him towards his friends.  


‘Liam...’ Theo started, but Liam just squeezed his hand softly to reassure him, walking ahead of him. With Theo following behind him, he made his way towards his friends.  


‘Hey Liam, Theo,’ Mason greeted them once they'd reached them. ‘Did you come to school together again today?’  


‘No,’ Liam shook his head, looking over at his boyfriend. ‘No, we just saw each other outside.’  


‘Oh, okay,’ Mason replied, looking at Theo, causing him to sigh.  


‘Okay, Mason, look,’ he started, looking a little insecure under Mason's gaze. ‘I know you don't really like me. I get that. I wouldn't like me either, weeks ago. But I really do care about Liam, and I just thought you should know that.’  


Mason's gaze softened at that, and he looked from Theo to Liam. ‘You care about him too?’ he asked.  


‘I do,’ Liam responded in a serious tone, before looking over at Theo, a small smile appearing on his face.  


‘Okay,’ Mason said, letting out a sigh and nodding. ‘Okay. Then, welcome to the club, Theo,’ he said, holding out his hand and his grin growing wider on his face.  


Theo chuckled as he shook his hand, Mason's eyes lighting up. ‘Hey, why don't you come and sit with us for lunch?" he asked. "That'd be cool.’  


Theo's eyes widened, lighting up with surprise. ‘Really?’ he asked, hopefully.  


Mason nodded reassuringly. ‘Yeah,’ he said, with a soft smile on his face.  


Liam beamed, smiling proudly as he looked from his friend to his boyfriend with glowing cheeks, happy that they were getting along now.  


Hayden interrupted them then though, showing them the time on her phone as she said: ‘It's getting late, class starts in a minute. We should get inside.’  


Mason and Corey nodded in agreement, following her into the classroom as Liam kept standing outside in the hallway with Theo for a moment longer.  


‘Will I see you after class? At lunch?’ Theo asked as they slowly started to walk down the hallway again, towards Theo's classroom, linking their hands together again.  


‘Yeah, sure,’ Liam replied softly, looking over at him as they came to a stop outside of Theo's classroom.  


‘I'm really happy that Mason invited me,’ Theo admitted, looking up at him.  


‘Me too,’ Liam grinned. He cupped his face, placing his hands on both of Theo's cheeks, and softly kissing him.  


Theo smiled, as he pulled back again. ‘You should go to class,’ he chuckled softly. ‘And so should I. We're gonna be late.’  


‘Yeah, probably,’ Liam chuckled. He had only turned around half, though, when he heard Theo's voice behind him again. ‘So I'll see you later, then?’  


Liam smiled, looking over his shoulder. ‘Yeah,’ he said.  


Theo beamed at that, and Liam grinned as he turned around again. With a smile still on his face he walked into the classroom, right on time, and fell down in his seat next to Mason.

***** 

They did have lunch with Mason, Corey and Hayden, during lunchbreak. It was a little awkward, like Liam had already expected a little bit, but he could say, in all honesty, that Theo was trying. He was actively making an effort to talk to Liam's friends, joining in on their conversation, and as Mason was a pretty talkative person, it went gradually easier as time passed by. Liam smiled proudly, happy to see his friends and his boyfriend getting along. He was glad to see that it was going better, and his friends even admitted that Theo was cooler than they first thought.  


They had lunch together more often that week, now with Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Malia also joining them, and both of their little groups coming together. It was still a little difficult at first, with Theo and his friends only just starting to warm up to each other again and getting comfortable around each other again, but Liam thought that it would work out. The shy jokes came first, testing to see if the other wouldn't get offended, and it was Stiles and Theo who then got a little more familiar with each other first.  


It was nice to see that it was working out. Liam smiled.

***** 

On Friday, that week, they had their last lacrosse practice before the game.  


Liam was a little early, as he strolled towards the sports field with Theo next to him. They'd all had lunch together outside today, squeezed together at a small table outside of the school with their big, excited group of friends, and when Liam decided to leave for lacrosse practice, it was still a little early.  


Theo's and his hands were swinging between them, linked together, and Liam smiled as the lacrosse field came into view, a memory popping into his head as he looked at the bleachers.  


He looked over at Theo, with a smile on his face. ‘You know,’ he said, nodding towards the bleachers. ‘That's where I first started to like you.’  


Theo's eyes widened, looking up at him with a faint shocked look on his face. ‘Seriously?’  


‘Yeah, I, uh...’ Liam chuckled nervously. ‘I liked you from the first moment I saw you. It was my first day here, and Hayden suggested that we should have lunch outside. So we sat down on the bleachers, and on the field, there was this guy who just kept scoring goal after goal, with so much determination that it caught my attention.’  


He grinned, looking up at a blushing Theo. ‘I liked him already.’  


‘Oh?’ Theo asked, chuckling. ‘So it was love at first sight then?’ he said, laughing.  


Liam's cheeks heated up, and he gave Theo a push. ‘Ass!’  


Theo grinned, laughing at that, before his expression turned serious again and he sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. ‘Too bad I was exactly that when we first met,’ he mumbled, staring down at the ground.  
Liam wasn't having that. ‘Hey,’ he said, gently lifting Theo's head with his fingers under his chin. ‘I told you it was okay, didn't I? You had a good reason.’  


‘No,’ Theo shook his head, looking up at Liam and letting him know that he found it important that he said this. ‘No amount of grief justifies lashing out at everyone around you. It just doesn't, and I should've know that.’  


Liam smiled softly, his heart racing in his chest as he felt proud of his boyfriend. ‘You know it now,’ he said. ‘And I wasn't exactly the nicest guy either.’  


‘Right,’ Theo grinned. ‘When you actually punched me in the face the very first time we met.’  


‘Well, you yelled at me,’ Liam snapped back, making Theo grin wickedly before he looked at Liam with a more serious look on his face again and he said: ‘You know I felt the same way, right?’  


Liam's head snapped up, his eyes widening. ‘What?’  


Theo nodded. ‘Yeah, when I first saw you at Lydia's party, just standing in the kitchen, I immediately saw how beautiful and blue your eyes were, and I just sort of... Felt it.’  


‘Wow...’ Liam breathed. ‘But...’ He looked up at his boyfriend. ‘You didn't like me,’ he said quietly.  


‘No, not at first,’ Theo admitted quietly, staring at the ground a little ashamed. ‘I just wanted those nasty feelings to go away, so things could go back to normal. But then things weren't normal, I just didn't know. All I wanted was for everyone to just leave me alone, and then you came around. And...’ He looked up. ‘I like you now.’  


‘I like you too,’ Liam blushed, a little overwhelmed by the information. He gently wrapped his arms around Theo, kissing him, and when he pulled back, he smiled. ‘Thank you for telling me.’  


Theo nodded, smiling. ‘I thought it was important, I wanted you to know,’ he said, and Liam nodded, with an understanding look in his eyes.  


‘Now,’ he said then. ‘Should we go change for lacrosse practice now? Because we were early for it a little while ago, but now we're gonna be late and if we walk in together, everyone's gonna make assumptions.’  


Theo burst out laughing at that, shaking his head at Liam. ‘I'm so in love with you,’ he chuckled, quietly, though he paused after he realized what he had said.  


Liam's cheeks were heated, a bit like they were actually glowing, and he asked shyly: ‘Really?’  


‘Yeah, really,’ Theo responded then, after a moment of pausing, taking a leap of faith. ‘I am.’  


‘Okay, well, that's good,’ Liam replied with a nervous chuckle, his cheeks still red and his heart beating faster in his chest. ‘Because I'm in love with you too.’  


Theo let out a sigh, grinning, and Liam leaned forward to kiss him again. When he pulled back, he took Theo's hand, linking their fingers together, and he chuckled. ‘If we don't go now though, we really are going to be late!’  


Theo laughed, following after Liam as he pulled him with him towards the locker room. ‘We can't have that, now can we?’  


Liam grinned, looking up at him. ‘You mean you can't. You're the team captain.’  


‘Oh, I see how it is,’ Theo said with feigned offence, though it was quickly replaced by a smirk as they reached the locker room.  


As expected, they were met by some cheering as they walked inside, mostly from Stiles, and Liam flushed. Quickly, he walked to the back of the room to change, and stayed behind a little until they were out on the field. There, he felt like he could be a little more active again, showing himself a little more as he actively participated in the practice and ran across the field.  


Practice went well for them that afternoon. Theo had a clear vision of the field, could see everything pretty well, and now that things were going better between him and his friends again, he did his best to throw the ball to Scott every time it seemed to be the best option.  


The only person who didn't get the ball as much was Stiles, because they figured out pretty early on that he was one of the clumsiest people they had ever seen.  


When they'd returned to the locker room after practice, and Coach did his usual yelling on how they could become better, Liam and Theo stayed behind a little bit.  


‘Do you have a minute?’ Theo whispered as they changed back into their normal clothes already. ‘I want to ask you something.’  


‘Sure,’ Liam smiled, curious what it was, and still wondering about it when Coach and the other players left the room, and he stayed behind alone with Theo.

***** 

Co-captains. Theo wanted to be co-captains.  


Out of all the things that Theo could have said, could have wanted to ask him, this was the last thing that Liam expected.  


He blinked, looking at Theo's smiling face. ‘You... What?’ he asked. ‘You want to be co-captains?’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo nodded, smiling proudly, his hand resting on top of Liam's on the bench that they were sitting on, and rubbing small circles over it. ‘You are good enough for it. And I enjoy playing with you.’  


Liam got a warm feeling in his chest at that, and he swallowed as he thought back on his old school. He'd almost made it as captain there, if it hadn't been for the things that had happened. He still got a bit anxious thinking about it, his heart racing in his chest and a nervous feeling fluttering in his stomach.  


Theo seemed to remember that though, and he meant well, Liam had to remind himself.  


‘But...’ he started, still a little overwhelmed. ‘I don't even play here that long yet. I haven't earned this.’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo smiled, genuinely. ‘You have.’  


His voice sounded soft and Liam looked up at him, hesitating. Theo seemed to know it too and he winked, grinning.  


‘Besides,’ he chuckled. ‘Who else is gonna be captain when I'm gone next year?’  


Liam swallowed anxiously at that, not wanting to think about it yet. He also knew that Theo just meant it as a joke though, as something light, and didn't actually want to put that kind of pressure on him. He respected him, respected his decision.  


‘Yes,’ he said then for that reason, turning around to look up at Theo where he was standing by his locker. ‘Yes, I'll be co-captain with you.’  


He wondered why they hadn't thought of that at his old school. It certainly would have prevented a whole lot of things from getting ruined.  


He still felt a bit anxious saying it, but as he saw Theo's sunshine smile, that almost blinded him, he knew it meant that he had made the right decision. Playing lacrosse with Theo was so much more fun than it ever could've been with Brett.  


That was also how they told Coach about their plan when he came in again, with the same old skeptical frown on his face that he usually had on.  


‘Co-captains?’ he asked, with his eyebrows raised and his arms crossed, taking a long look at Liam like he was judging him. ‘You wanna be co-captains?’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo said with a small smile, looking over at Liam. ‘He's a good player, I think it could work.’  


Liam blushed, but before Theo could continue to try and convince Coach that this was a good idea, he interrupted him.  


‘You don't have to explain,’ he said. ‘It's done.’  


‘Really?’ Theo let out a sigh, sounding relieved, as Coach turned around again. ‘Thank you.’  


Coach looked over his shoulder, giving Theo a small smile. ‘I'm just glad you got your team-spirit back, Raeken.’  


Then he disappeared into his little office, and Theo chuckled. Me too, he seemed to think.  


Liam looked up at him, his cheeks a little red. ‘So, that just happened,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘We're co-captains now. How are we gonna tell the rest of the team? And what if they're not okay with it?’  


Theo just smiled, and pulled him into a hug. ‘They will be,’ he said. ‘We'll tell them later, yeah? Let's just go home for now.’  


Liam nodded, as Theo pulled back. ‘Are we going to your house or mine?’ he asked. ‘We said we'd watch movies, or play video games, right?’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo nodded, smiling. ‘Come on.’  


He took Liam's hand, grabbing his bag, and waited for Liam to grab his as well. Then, they walked out of the locker room towards the parking lot, ready to go home.

***** 

The week after, on Friday, their big game came along.  


It was already getting a little dark when Liam arrived on the field, deep in thought and with an uneasy feeling in his stomach.  


The rest of the team had been okay with him becoming co-captain, more than okay even, much to Liam's relief. Aside from that though, the feeling of nervousness in his stomach had grown a little worse over the course of the past week, with each day that passed.  


He knew who they were up against, knew that they had to play against Devenford tonight, and it had made him irritable, much to his friends' concern. They knew what had happened though, knew what happened at Devenford, and they had all tried to be there for him. Liam had felt grateful for it.  


Now though, standing on the edge of the field, he could see Devenford Prep's schoolbus already, and something uneasy fluttered in his stomach, something that he couldn't control and almost made him feel sick. He clenched his fists, taking a deep breath, but then the sound of the voices of his friends by the bleachers cleared his head a little bit. They managed to chase away some of the heavy feeling, until he could focus and see straight again.  


With a sigh he straightened his back, turning around and making his way over to his friends as he forced himself to smile. They were all there, Scott, Stiles, Corey and Theo in their lacrosse gear, and Mason, Hayden, Lydia and Malia standing around them with proud smiles on their faces. The only one that Liam didn't know, who caught his attention, was a taller boy with dark hair and blue eyes, standing next to Hayden.  


A smile appeared on her face as she saw him then, waving him over. ‘Liam, there you are,’ she said, before looking up at the boy beside her as a blush started to appear on her cheeks. ‘Uhm, this is Thomas. From Sinema.’  


She chuckled nervously, and Liam remembered her mentioning him during one of their movie nights. ‘I said he could come with me, he wanted to watch the game.’  


Thomas smiled, greeting them, and he received a warm welcome from everyone in return. Theo held out his hand, smiling. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Nice to meet you.’  


‘Hi,’ Thomas nodded friendly, and Liam looked from Theo to him, forcing himself to smile as he gripped his lacrosse stick a little tighter.  


‘Do you play lacrosse?’ he asked, though he was only vaguely aware of the way his jaw was clenched just slightly.  


‘No, uh, we play basketball at my school,’ Thomas laughed. ‘So that's a little different.’  


‘Okay,’ Liam managed to get out, his fingers squeezing his lacrosse stick a little tighter until his knuckles turned a little white, and feeling something hot burning in his stomach. He missed the way Scott and Theo gave each other a concerned look. ‘Have you ever been to a lacrosse game before?’  


‘Eh...’ Thomas started, beginning to notice that something was wrong, and shooting an unsure look in Hayden's direction.  


‘Liam...’ she started, but Theo interrupted her. ‘Liam?’ he asked with wide eyes, a concerned look on his face. ‘Are you okay?’  


‘I'm fine,’ Liam managed, forcing a laugh to try and convince them of that, even though he was aware of the fact that it sounded empty. ‘Just a little nervous.’  


‘Okay,’ Theo said, before taking a look at the rest of the group and taking Liam's hand, walking aside to a spot where it was more quiet for a moment, away from the group. There, he looked at Liam.  


‘Are you sure you're okay?’ he asked, sounding a little worried.  


‘Yeah,’ Liam managed, forcing a smile, unaware of how Theo silently told himself to keep an eye on him. He took Liam's hand in his, rubbing soft circles on the back with his thumb, and sighed.  


‘So,’ he said, as they turned to look across the field from the sidelines, where the players from Devenford were just arriving. ‘Are you ready for it?’  


Liam shrugged, swallowing as he caught sight of Brett, his former best friend, and saw the way his eyes went dark once he spotted Liam. ‘I think so.’  


‘It's okay,’ Theo said. ‘I'm here,’ he smiled, kissing Liam's cheek before they were called over by Coach for a peptalk before the game started. Liam waited impatiently, tapping his feet on the ground nervously, and then they were out on the field.  


Immediately, Liam ran forward, his lacrosse stick tightly in his hands and ready to play. He paid close attention to the opposite team, more than to his own team, and they were ready to do the same. Every time Liam came even close to them, they would gladly sneer at him.  


For a moment, Liam couldn't focus, seeing everything a little blurry and his vision red, and when Brett came closer to him, it got worse.  


‘What the hell are you doing!?’ the other boy sneered, as he ran past him again. ‘Still having trouble controlling yourself?’  


Liam groaned, his hands gripping his lacrosse stick tighter, and running after him. He didn't know where the rest of his team was, or how the game was going, but he figured that they could handle things without him for a little while.  


It wasn't until Theo stopped him that he took a minute to catch his breath, looking up at him as his chest went up and down quickly.  


‘What are you doing?’ Theo asked worriedly, a frown on his face. ‘Are you okay?’  


‘Fine,’ Liam said, his voice almost coming out as a growl. ‘How are we doing?’  


‘Eh...’ Theo looked towards the score board, where it was still zero points for them. ‘Not too great, actually,’ he said, reaching out to Liam's hand. ‘We need you.’  


Liam remained silent, and Theo squeezed his hand. ‘I get it, okay? But just try to focus on me, I'm right here. Maybe we can play the way we do during practice?’  


Liam let out a deep breath, trying to control his breathing, and looked up at Theo with heated cheeks. The burning in his stomach was still there, but with Theo it felt like he could focus on something else for a little while.  


‘It's almost break,’ Theo reassured him, smiling and giving his hand a soft squeeze. ‘Just focus on me, alright?’  


Liam nodded, rubbing his hand over his face. He followed Theo over the field, focusing on the game again and tried not to let Brett get to him.  


It was easier said than done though, he figured out soon, when Brett kept seeking him out, almost provoking him, it seemed. Liam gritted his teeth. Something in his stomach turned uneasily, and he followed Brett to his side of the field. Vaguely, behind him, he could hear his team calling his name, but his heart was pounding, and his vision was red. He couldn't really focus on the game anymore, as the hot, uneasy feeling in his stomach flared up again.  


He felt restless as he ran over the field towards the other goal, having trouble to pay attention to what his own team was doing, and he missed the way Coach shouted his name across the field. The other players ran past him, wondering what he was doing and nearly running into him, but Brett was the one who went a little further. Liam crashed into him, groaning painfully, and his breath came out rapidly as he shot Brett an angry look.  


‘What the hell are you doing? Get out of the way, you're ruining this for everybody,’ the other boy hissed.  


Liam narrowed his eyes, clenching his jaw, and it wasn't until Theo appeared beside him again, that he looked around a little again.  


‘Are you okay?’ Theo asked, frowning worriedly as Liam glared at him. ‘There's a break.’  


Liam remained silent, and Theo sighed. ‘Come on,’ he said, taking Liam's hand and leading him over to the sideline, where Coach was waiting for them with a very angry look on his face.  


‘Dunbar!’ he shouted. ‘What the hell was that out there? You have to stay focused!’  


Liam glared at him, fuming, and clenching his jaw to make sure he didn't yell back at Coach, who wasn't done yet.  


‘If you don't play better after the break, I'm putting you on the bench. Raeken,’ he said, turning to Theo. ‘You better make damn sure he cools down again!’  


Theo nodded, and grabbed Liam's hand. ‘Come on,’ he said softly, leading him to the locker room.  


‘Let me go!’ he snapped when they got there, pulling his hand back. A hurt look flashed over Theo's face and he frowned, looking worried. ‘What's going on with you?’ he asked. ‘Is it Brett? It is, isn't it?’  


Liam paced back and forth, trying to control his breathing and calm down a little. ‘You don't know anything about that,’ he said lowly, his voice almost coming out as a growl.  


‘Yes, I do,’ the other boy protested, softly, as he pulled Liam closer and they sat down on the bench in the middle of the locker room together. ‘You told me, remember?’  


Liam took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking into Theo's beautiful, calming green eyes. ‘Yeah," he said. "I know.’  


Theo smiled softly, pulling Liam closer. He only hesitated for a moment before he started rubbing Liam's shoulders and upper back, hoping it would make some of the tension disappear.  


Liam's eyes fluttered shut a little, and he leaned into Theo's touch with a sigh. Almost automatically, he could feel the tension fade away because of Theo's nice little massage, and a warm, content feeling filled his stomach.  


Theo chuckled, pressing a kiss on Liam's cheek. ‘Is that better now?’ he asked softly.  


Liam opened his eyes, blinking, and looking into Theo soothing green eyes. ‘Yeah, thank you,’ he murmured, before sitting up straight and giving his boyfriend a serious look. ‘Listen," he said. ‘I'm sorry about lashing out. I shouldn't have done that.’  


‘It's okay,’ Theo said, rubbing circles over the back of his hand with his thumb. ‘I know that things can feel a little overwhelming sometimes.’  


Liam nodded, letting out a sigh. ‘Yeah,’ he mumbled. ‘I... I think I feel okay now though. Thank you.’  


Theo just smiled, nodding, and Liam rubbed his hand over his face.  


‘It is Brett,’ he said, staring down at the bench a little ashamed. ‘You were right. I thought I could do it, but every time I see him I just think about what I did again, and... I can't. I just get so mad when I look at him, knowing what he did to me too!’  


‘Hey, come on,’ Theo said softly, lifting his head with his fingers under his chin, an understanding look in his eyes. ‘I get it. I know. But... Do you maybe want to try playing closer to me now? We can do it like we do during practice, alright?’  


‘Yeah,’ Liam nodded, giving a small smile. ‘Yeah, I think that'd be good. Thank you.’  


Theo smiled, pulling him into a hug. ‘You don't have to thank me,’ he said.  


Liam closed his eyes, letting out a content sigh as he snuggled further into Theo's chest. ‘I should apologize to Hayden, and Thomas,’ he mumbled.  


‘You don't have to,’ Theo said softly, but Liam pulled back, sitting up so he could look at him. ‘Yeah, I do. I was a bit rude to him, and Hayden's my friend. That wasn't nice.’  


Theo grinned, his eyes sparkling. ‘I'm proud of you,’ he said, smiling.  


Liam blushed, standing up, and still feeling like it should be the other way around. Theo had come such a long way in such a short amount of time.  


‘Come on,’ he said, holding out his hand to Theo. ‘Break's almost over, we have to get back.’  


Theo smiled, nodding as he stood up. He linked his fingers through Liam's, and like that, they walked back to the field.  


Coach was already waiting for them there, frowning as they walked up to him. ‘Did you work it out?’ he asked, impatiently.  


Theo nodded, looking over at Liam with a smile. ‘Yeah,’ he said, his voice full of honesty that made Liam's stomach flutter. ‘We did.’  


‘Good,’ Coach nodded shortly, turning to the rest of the team again. ‘Then we can start again, and you better make damn sure that you play better than the first half!’  


The team nodded in agreement, and as soon as it was time, they were out on the field again. The second half went a lot better than the first did, and Liam tried to fix it by staying close to Theo. He had the feeling Theo kept him grounded, in a way. He had less trouble concentrating around him, and he saw everything clearly. Together, they played like they did during practice, strong and good, and Liam's mood improved, unable to keep the smile from his face as the number on the score board went up. In the end, they won, with only one point more than Devenford, and Liam could've sworn that Brett gave him a little nod, even as he still looked sad because of his loss. It left him a little confused, not understanding why Brett would do that, but in the end, it made him feel a little more peaceful.  


He beamed as Coach gave them a last happy peptalk about how good they were, as if he hadn't been angry during the break.  


After the game, he walked over to his friends, who were already celebrating the fact that they won. Liam saw Hayden and Thomas standing a little more to the back, big smiles on their faces, and he let go of Theo's hand, giving him a small smile and softly excusing himself. He walked over to them, a small smile on his face.  


‘Hey.’  


Hayden looked up, her smile wavering only a little bit. ‘Hey,’ she said, and Liam could still feel a little bit of tension. He gave a small smile.  


‘I should apologize,’ he said. ‘Before the game, I was a bit rude, and that wasn't fair. I was just nervous because this was my old school that we had to play against,’ he explained to Thomas.  


Thomas nodded, a smile on his face. ‘Don't worry about it, man,’ he laughed. ‘Hayden explained it to me.’  


Liam let out a soft breath, nodding. ‘Okay,’ he said softly. ‘Good.’  


He could see why Hayden liked Thomas. He was relaxed, and nice, and seemed to be easy to get along with. He was happy that his friend met someone like that.  


‘Hey, and you won the game, right?’ Thomas interrupted his thoughts then. ‘Congratulations! We can just go and celebrate.’  


Liam chuckled, feeling more relaxed already, and he nodded as he turned back to his friends. Most of the team had gathered around them as well, and while Liam usually liked that, now the sound of all of their voices talking over each other, just made him feel overwhelmed. He was a little tired, and even though he felt content that they had won the game, he leaned against Theo with a smile, enjoying how warm and soft he was. When Theo wrapped his arm around him, he let out a soft breath, and nodded when Theo suggested that they should go home.  


Together, they said goodbye to the rest of the team, before walking back to the parking lot with their hands linked together. Liam looked over at Theo with a smile, his cheeks a little red as he said: ‘Thank you for helping me during the break. I really needed that. And I'm sorry for lashing out at you.’  


‘You don't have to apologize,’ Theo said softly. ‘We all have things we find hard. And I'm happy to help.’  


‘Go out with me.’ Liam blurted it out before he had a chance to think twice, and Theo looked up in surprise, his eyes wide. ‘What?’  


‘Uh... I mean,’ Liam's cheeks slowly grew more red as he continued. ‘I know we haven't been together very long, but I don't think I've actually taken you out somewhere nice.’  


Theo blushed. ‘Do you want that?’ he asked quietly.  


‘Yeah,’ Liam said nervously, his heart pounding in his chest and letting Theo know how serious he was. ‘Of course I do.’  


Theo's smile grew at that, a warm, happy look in his eyes. ‘Then we do that,’ he said softly, sounding peaceful and content, softly rubbing the back of Liam's hand with his thumb.  


‘Okay,’ Liam nodded, unable to keep the grin of his face. ‘I'll, eh, pick you up at seven tomorrow then.’  


Theo giggled, nodding, and stepped closer to give him a kiss. ‘That sounds like a plan,’ he said softly. ‘I'm looking forward to it.’  


Liam flushed, and he nodded. Theo looked over at the parking lot then. ‘I should go to my parents,’ he said, nodding to where they were waiting for him by their car.  


‘Yeah, me too,’ Liam smiled, before saying goodbye to Theo, and walking over to his parents with a warm feeling in his chest. They smiled, congratulating him on winning the game, and looked happy for him when he told them about his date with Theo.  


They got in the car then, and as Liam climbed in on the backseat and they started to drive back home, he couldn't stop thinking about how good everything in his life was now.

***** 

To say that Liam was nervous, would be an understatement.  


Frowning, he stood in front of his wardrobe with his hands shaking a little, looking over his clothes.  


What did one usually wear to a date?  


Nothing he had seemed good enough, and Liam could feel himself growing a little frustrated. He just wanted it to be a nice evening and look good, because Theo deserved that.  


‘Hey sweetie,’ his mom said then, walking into his room and interrupting his troubled thoughts. ‘How is everything going here? Are you ready for tonight?’  


‘No,’ Liam huffed, turning around to her. ‘I've got nothing to wear.’  


‘What?’ his mom asked, standing up from the bed she was sitting on and walking over to the closet. ‘What do you mean you've got nothing to wear? Of course you have something to wear.’  


She pulled out a grey shirt with a black jacket, showing it to Liam. He shook his head. ‘No, I... I want it to be special.’  


‘Ah,’ his mom smiled, searching through the closet again. ‘I think I've got just the thing.’  


Liam wasn't sure he wanted to know, judging by the smile on his mom's face, but when she pulled out a black shirt with white dots and pink flowers, he thought that he was glad that he let her pick out his clothes. He had gotten it for his birthday from her once, and had only been worn once.  


Now was a good time to do it again.  


‘What do you think?’ his mom asked. ‘This alright?’  


Liam nodded, brushing his fingers over the fabric of the shirt. ‘Yeah. This is perfect.’  


His mom chuckled. ‘That's good to hear,’ she said, walking to the door. ‘But now you need to hurry, or you're gonna be late.’  


Liam nodded, turning around to the wardrobe again and putting on the shirt. After combining it with black jeans and shoes, it looked nice, and he thought he was ready to go.  


Downstairs, he said goodbye to his mom and dad, and after they told him to have fun, he walked outside, getting in his car with a nervous feeling fluttering in his stomach. His hands were shaking a little as he started the car, but as he drove away towards Theo's house, a smile appeared on his face.  


When he parked the car on the side of the road in front of Theo's house and got out, he still had the same happy feeling in his stomach as he walked up to the house and pressed the doorbell.  


Theo opened the door, smiling brightly as he stood in the doorway, and wearing a white T-shirt and black jeans that made him look absolutely gorgeous. For a moment, he took Liam's breath away.  


‘Hi,’ he breathed then. ‘I... Wow.’  


Theo chuckled. ‘Same here,’ he winked as he stepped outside, grabbing a black leather jacket, and closing the door.  


Liam flushed at the comment and Theo took his hand, starting to walk towards the car, but looked up in surprise when Liam shook his head and lead him in the other direction.  


‘Where are we going?’ he asked.  


‘Oh, uhm, I, eh, thought we could walk to the restaurant,’ Liam said, blushing. ‘I made reservations at an Italian place nearby.’  


‘Really?’ Theo's eyes widened. ‘That's really nice, Liam.’  


Liam giggled, stroking Theo's hand with his thumb as he told him he hadn't been there in a while, and slowly, peacefully, they strolled to the restaurant together.  


When they got to the restaurant, they didn't have to wait long to be seated because of their reservation, and were brought to a quiet, more private table in the back of the restaurant.  


‘I, eh, thought it'd be better here,’ Liam said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.  


Theo gave him a bright smile. ‘It's perfect,’ he said, smiling up at Liam as he chuckled and pulled his chair back. ‘Thanks.’  


Liam nodded and sat down across from him then, and they didn't have to wait long before the waiter brought them their menu's.  


After looking at it for a bit, Liam looked up from his menu to Theo. ‘Do you know what you want?’ he asked softly.  


Theo smiled, nodding. ‘Yeah,’ he said, as he put the menu down. ‘It's nice here,’ he said, looking around the restaurant, as they both took in the romantic-looking dimmed lighting and the candle on their table. ‘But what about the amusement park? We went there together, didn't we?’  


‘Uh, yeah, technically,’ Liam laughed. ‘But I wanted to do it official.’  


Theo chuckled, reaching for Liam's hand on the table. ‘Well, you certainly pulled that off,’ he laughed.  


When the waiter came, they both made their order, a lasagna for Theo and a pasta carbonara for Liam, and when he walked away again, they took their glasses of Coca Cola.  


‘You know I was with Mason and Corey and Hayden the other day,’ Liam said. ‘We do these weekly movie nights, and Mason's always really excited for it. So last week he offered to make the popcorn for us, and then when he heard us laughing in the living room, he actually thought we had started the movie without him. So he comes running into the room, the bowl with popcorn in his hands, and then he trips! He tripped over the carpet, and the popcorn just went everywhere!’  


Theo couldn't hold back his laughter at that, leaning against the back of his chair as he chuckled. ‘That must've been a pain to clean up.’  


Liam giggled, shaking his head. ‘It wasn't that bad. But we had to make all new popcorn.’  


Theo let out a chuckle, still laughing a little as the waiter arrived with their food. When he'd placed it in front of them and wished them a nice meal, Theo cut into his food and looked up at Liam again with sparkling eyes. ‘You know, Scott and Stiles actually invited me for a movie night next week too.’  


‘Really?’ Liam asked, a smile appearing on his face. ‘That's great!’  


‘Yeah,’ Theo replied, taking a sip from his cola. ‘I am a bit nervous for it, but things have been so great between us this last week, I'm looking forward to it.’  


‘That's great to hear,’ Liam replied with a smile, taking another bite from his pasta and placing his hand on top of Theo's for a moment.  


Theo smiled. ‘Yeah. We actually used to do that up until last year, just the three of us. It's nice to think that that hasn't changed.’  


Liam nodded, when Theo's smile turned into a chuckle. ‘Sometimes we used to get ice cream together as well, at an ice cream shop that's actually right here down the street. I remember this one time when it was sunny out and so we decided to walk to the park. Stiles had this ice cream cone with strawberry ice cream, and when we were crossing the street he tripped, and dropped all of his ice cream right down on the street.’ Theo laughed. ‘We had to go back and buy another one then.’  


Liam burst out laughing at that, leaning against the back of his chair. ‘Oh, what clumsy friends we have,’ he giggled.  


Theo laughed. ‘Yeah, and then I'm not even mentioning all of the other clumsy things that Stiles has done yet,’ he chuckled.  


‘Yeah, I'm actually fairly clumsy myself to be honest,’ Liam said. ‘Especially when I was younger. My mom always told me that I lost everything. And there was this one time, when I worked in a grocery store, that I dropped two, like, cartons of yogurt, and it just left a mess everywhere. They weren't so happy with me after that.’  


Theo giggled, unable to hold back his laughter at that. ‘No kidding,’ he joked, as he started to finish his meal.  


‘Did you see that new Netflix show by the way?’ he asked then, pausing to thank their waiter for cleaning up their plates and bringing their desserts. ‘You?’  


‘The one with Penn Badgley?’ Liam asked, pulling his gelato closer to him.  


Theo nodded. ‘I watched the first episode. It was... Intense.’  


Liam chuckled. ‘Yeah, I saw it too. That's definitely one way to describe it.’  


‘Yeah, we should watch it together!’ Theo suggested brightly, looking over at Liam's dessert. ‘Can I try that?’  


Liam laughed, pushing his plate over to him. ‘Sure, if I can try yours. And that sounds like a great idea.’  


Theo grinned, pushing his tiramisu over to him. Liam took a bite with his spoon, enjoying how great it tasted, as he thought about watching You with Theo. It really was a good idea, he was looking forward to it, sitting against him as they did so.  


He smiled then, chuckling as Theo cut off a piece of his tiramisu, and leaning over the table a little with a smile on his lips as he gave him a spoonful of the chocolaty treat.  


He cut off a piece of his own dessert then, holding out the spoon and letting Theo try it, and chuckled when he pulled his hand back.  


‘Good?’ he asked.  


‘Hmm,’ Theo nodded, grinning. ‘The best.’  


They finished their desserts then, eating half of each other's and concluding what great taste in that the other had, and asked their waiter to bring over their bill.  


After discussing it a little, Liam said to pay for the both of them, making Theo's cheeks turn red and his eyes sparkle.  


Together, they walked out of the restaurant with their hands linked, and a smile on their face. It had gone dark outside, making the stars shine bright and sparkle above their heads, as they strolled back towards Theo's house with their hands swinging between them.  


Theo smiled, looking over at Liam with a warm, fond look in his eyes. ‘Thank you for taking me there,’ he said, when they were around halfway back. ‘I'm really happy to be here with you right now.’  


‘Me too,’ Liam replied warmly, unable to keep the fond look from his face as he looked over at Theo, and stepped closer to him.  


Theo pressed his lips against his, hard, and needy, and pulling him closer. A soft moan spilled past Liam's lips, pressing himself closer against Theo, and his fingers in his hair. His hands traveled a little further down, bravely pushing them under Theo's shirt and kissing him again, but Theo stopped him, pushing him away a little.  


‘Liam, Liam,’ he mumbled, his breath going a little faster. ‘Liam,’ before they could get carried away. ‘We're on the street right now, but let's do this at home, alright?’  


Liam nodded, an excited feeling settling in his stomach. He took Theo's hand again and like that, they strolled home again.  


They were close to Theo's house when he looked over with a smile, and Liam shivered.  


‘Are you cold?’ he asked.  


Liam looked up with a smile, shaking his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I'm fine.’  


Theo shrugged off his jacket, placing it over Liam's shoulders. ‘Here.’  


‘Thanks,’ Liam chuckled softly, yawning as they arrived back at Theo's house. Theo looked over at him. ‘My parents are home, but they're probably in bed already. We can go upstairs, if you want to...?’  


Stay over, Liam finished his sentence in his head, as they made it sound like the most normal thing. He smiled. ‘Yes.’  


Theo grinned. ‘Okay, come on.’  


He lead him up to the house, where he put the keys in the lock and opened the door, and they went inside. Liam followed him up the stairs, to Theo's room, and sat down on the bed, smiling as Theo closed the door.  


Theo smiled, turning around. ‘You look so good in my jacket.’  


Liam grinned, watching with wide eyes as Theo walked over to the bed, and stifling a yawn as he leaned back against the pillows and Theo kissed him.  


‘You're so beautiful,’ Theo whispered against his lips, making Liam feel warm all over, and he pulled at his clothes. The jacket ended up on the floor.  


Theo noticed Liam's tired eyes then though, and he pulled back. ‘We can do this later,’ he said gently, rubbing Liam's arms.  


Liam stared down at his lap. ‘I'm sorry.’  


‘Don't be, it's okay,’ Theo said softly. ‘We can just go to sleep.’  


Liam nodded, and Theo smiled, standing up. He got two pairs of pajama pants and shirts for them, giving one of each to Liam, and changing into them.  


He climbed into bed behind Liam then, wrapping his arms around and pressing his face against his neck, giving one soft kiss against his skin. Liam smiled, letting out a soft breath as he closed his eyes, and enjoyed Theo's warmth so close to him.  


‘Good night Liam,’ Theo whispered, covering both of them under the blanket.  


‘Night, Theo,’ Liam replied warmly, his eyes fluttering shut and already drifting off to sleep. Theo hugged him closer, and that was the last thing he felt before falling asleep.

***** 

Liam woke to the sound of voices, sounding loud in the house.  


For a moment, he felt confused about where he was, tiredly opening his eyes and blinking against the sunlight, until he saw Theo standing by his desk, getting dressed.  


‘Hey, morning,’ Liam mumbled, from where he was lying on his stomach.  


Theo smiled, turning around. ‘Morning,’ he said, as he walked over and sat down on the side of the bed, looking down at him.  


‘Hm,’ Liam hummed, before sitting up a little more. ‘What is all that?’  


Theo chuckled, brushing his hand through Liam's hair fondly. ‘Apparently, your mom got worried when you didn't come home last night. She was a little worried, until she reached the conclusion that you might be here.’  


‘My mom's here?’ Liam asked. He felt a bit bad about not letting her know where he was.  


Theo nodded. ‘Yeah, she's downstairs with my parents right now. Come on, if you get up, there's tea and breakfast.’  


Liam nodded, pushing the covers aside and getting out of bed. After a moment wondering whether he should wear his date clothes from last night again, he borrowed a shirt from Theo, and when he was ready, he followed him down the stairs.  


His mom was in the living room, at the table, and Liam found that she was quite relieved to see him. And after talking things over, glad to hear that the date went well, he and Theo sat down at the table as well, joining them for breakfast.

***** 

The rest of his Sunday, Liam spent quite peacefully. He went home first, taking his date clothes with him and giving Theo's shirt back to him, and finished the homework that he still had to do.  


Theo came over then, and together, just like they said, they watched an episode of You on the couch. Liam enjoyed the warmth of it, sitting close to Theo and resting against him as he had his arms wrapped around him. He let out a soft breath as Theo pressed a kiss on the top of his head, smiling softly before focusing on the TV again.  


After that, they chose to play a game of Mario Kart again, doing a round of Rainbow Road like they used to do.  


Liam loved the fun of it, getting competitive with Theo again, and feeling something fluttering in his stomach every time he looked over at Theo and saw him smiling widely. Everything was good right now, and he was happy at the thought of them staying that way.  


On Monday, he went to school, only seeing Theo during lunchbreak. Their friends were already waiting for them at their usual spot outside on the bleachers, and during lunch, he walked towards the sports field with Theo next to him, feeling happy that everything was working out.  


‘Today's so long,’ Theo sighed. ‘I thought lunch would never come.’  


Liam smiled. ‘Ah, it's here now. Let's just relax for a few minutes, okay?’  


Theo smiled, nodding. ‘Are you free after school?’ he asked, looking over at him. ‘We can do homework together.’  


Liam nodded, with a smile on his face. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘We can help each other.’  


Theo grinned, reaching for Liam's hand. ‘That sounds good, thank you,’ he said, as they continued their way to the sports field. It was a silent for a moment before Theo looked over at Liam with a fond smile, his hand squeezing Liam's a little. ‘You know,’ he said, as they walked towards the bleachers. ‘My life would suck without you.’  


Liam stayed silent for a moment, smiling as he thought over Theo's words, before looking up at him and squeezing his hand back.  


‘My life would suck without you too,’ he said, and Theo blushed. Then, they walked over to the bleachers with linked hands, joining their friends, and immediately being joined in their conversation. It was lively, but it was good. It was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! :)


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final part of the story. Liam and Theo have got their relationship figured out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final part is finally here!! I'm so happy I got this finished :)

THREE YEARS LATER

‘Do you have everything?’  


Theo was standing next to Liam in line, nodding towards the things he still had and could take with him in his hand luggage on the plane.  


‘I hope so,’ Liam chuckled. ‘It's too late to go back now.’  


Theo laughed softly at that, hoping that it would all be alright, as they shuffled forward in line. At the front of the line, he could already see people getting on the plane, and as the line moved forward, it was only a while until he and Liam could too.  


Following after each other as they got on the plane, Liam gripped his hand securely, and smiled. ‘No need to be nervous, okay?’  


Theo nodded, smiling, as his heartbeat already got a little more steady again.  


Luckily, they found their seats pretty soon, and with their hand luggage stuffed in the little cabinets above their head, they fell down in their seats together.  


Theo looked out of the little window beside him, outside to where they would take off. ‘I'm looking forward to this,’ he said.  


Liam grinned, taking his hand. ‘Me too.’  


They didn't know when their first plans to travel together had started to come, they'd just started talking about it one day.  


At first it had been a little hard for Theo, as travelling was always something he imagined he'd do with Tara. He had not found it easy to face the fact that he couldn't anymore, and found it upsetting that he had to do so.  


Over time though, slowly, it had gotten better with the help of his parents and Liam, until Liam pointed out the world map in his room.  


Dreams, fantasies and what if's, everything that Theo still wanted to do, had turned into plans, and thus, the plan to go to China together was there.  


The safety instructions and movement of the plane interrupted their thoughts then, and Theo looked over at Liam.  


The blue-eyed boy was looking at the flight attendant with a serious look on his face, but when he noticed Theo looking at him, he gave him a small smile, placing his hand on top of Theo's. A calm feeling settled in Theo's stomach.  


Truthfully, Liam knew that Theo was still unsure about something he'd do with Tara and doing it with him instead, but he found it brave. Theo knew that he did.  


It was why he was so glad to be doing this with him.  


With a smile, he looked over at Liam. ‘So,’ he said, as the plane flew through the sky. ‘We're really doing this? This is really happening?’  


Liam smiled, letting out a soft breath and sending butterflies fluttering in Theo's stomach. ‘Yeah,’ he chuckled softly. ‘It is,’ he said, turning towards Theo. ‘But don't worry, we worked hard. You've earned it. We have earned it.’  


Theo blushed, a warm feeling in his stomach. ‘You're right,’ he said, thinking back on his last year of high school. And Liam was right. It hadn't always been easy, with some of his grades having dropped so much that he wasn't sure he could make it at the end of the year, but after making things right with his friends, things started looking up.  


His grades got better again, sometimes with the help from Liam, and Theo worked hard so he could finish his school year that same year, and not have to do it all over again.  


He remembered how relieved he was when he made it, being congratulated by all of his friends, and how happy he felt and almost cried when they all graduated together.  


He went to college after that, studying English like he loved. That year without Liam was hard, with Liam still being a senior back in Beacon Hills, but they tried to see each other as often as possible through Skype and phone calls, and Theo visited home every time he could.  


A year later, Liam followed him to the same college to study history, and he and Theo got to see each other more often again. Theo realized how much he missed him then, and just doing things with Liam, like studying together or getting coffee or sharing a bed in their dorm room more and more often, let him know how good things were.  


‘You know what we should do when we get there?’ Theo chuckled. ‘Try all the local food there immediately!’  


With a giggle, he looked over at Liam, a fond sigh escaping his lips when he saw that the other boy had fallen asleep against the window.  


With a smile, Theo turned to him. ‘Hey Liam,’ he said softly, gently brushing through his hair. ‘I just wanted to say that I really didn't want to do this with anyone else. I'm really excited to do this with you, and this wouldn't have happened without your help. I know things haven't always been easy, but you were there even when I pushed you away and when I didn't think I needed help. You've been there for me more than anyone else. I felt like I was drowning, and you pulled me out. I couldn't have done any of this without you, none of this would have been possible without you. You've been so amazing, and I'm always gonna do the same for you.’  


He chuckled, brushing some hair out of Liam's eyes and kissing the top of his head. 'I love you. Get some sleep, Li. I'll see you when we land.’  


With that, he moved around in his seat a little until he got comfortable, his head resting on Liam's shoulder. And then, as the plane flew further towards China with only a little disturbance sometimes, he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!  
> And this fic was kind of inspired by the song Stand By You by Rachel Platten :)


End file.
